Point pooling loyalty system and method

ABSTRACT

The invention facilitates pooling, gifting or transferring of geographic area loyalty points between accounts. The invention also facilitates a transfer of geographic area loyalty points from a consumer account associated with a sponsoring company to a consumer account associated with a host company. The invention may also facilitate gifting of loyalty points to charitable organizations on a recurring basis, wherein the gifting may transfer any portion of geographic based points to various charities. The system may also convert the geographic area loyalty points to a monetary value, thereby allowing the points to be donated to a charity such that the donation appears to be a monetary value donation to the charity.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to, and is a continuation-in-part of,U.S. Ser. No. 10/378,456, filed Mar. 3, 2003 and entitled “System andMethod for Real-Time Transfer of Loyalty Points Between Accounts.” The'456 application claims priority to, and is a continuation-in-part of,U.S. Ser. No. 10/027,984, filed Dec. 21, 2001 and entitled “System AndMethod For Networked Loyalty Program.” This application also claimspriority to, and is a continuation-in-part of, U.S. Ser. No. 10/304,251filed on Nov. 26, 2002 and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRANSFER OFLOYALTY POINTS.” The '984 application and the '251 application claimpriority to, and are continuations-in-part of, U.S. Ser. No. 09/836,213,filed Apr. 17, 2001 and entitled “System and Method for NetworkedLoyalty Program”, which itself claims priority to, and the benefit of,U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/279,817, filed Mar. 29, 2001and entitled “System and Method for Networked Incentive Awards Program”.This application also claims benefit from, and priority to, U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/482,644, filed Jun. 26, 2003,which is all hereby incorporated by reference. This application herebyincorporates by reference all of these prior applications in theirentireties.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to loyalty systems, and moreparticularly, to a system and method for transferring, pooling andgifting geographic area loyalty points.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Loyalty programs have been relatively successful; however, numerousloyalty programs exist, so businesses have a difficult timedifferentiating their loyalty programs from other loyalty programs onthe market. Moreover, many consumers often travel for work relatedreasons, so they may not desire to use their loyalty points to travel todistant cities or distant countries. Rather, many consumers enjoy thebenefits of their “hometown” region, including local restaurants, localtheaters, local sporting activities and other events. At the same time,marketers have begun to understand that many consumers develop a strongpride, emotional affinity and loyalty to the geographic region wherethey live. As such, a long-felt need exists for a loyalty program whichrewards consumers for purchases in certain local geographic areas andwhich enables consumers to utilize their loyalty points in a similarlocal geographic area.

Loyalty point systems also typically include individual consumer loyaltypoint accounts which record the balance of loyalty points earned by theindividual consumer, wherein the loyalty points may be earned within aparticular geographic area. The consumer may be part of a family ororganization and the consumer may desire to share or transfer theconsumer's loyalty points in a geographic area to other members of theconsumer's family or organization. Moreover, a consumer may immediatelyneed additional loyalty points in a geographic area in his or her ownloyalty account in order to have a sufficient number of loyalty pointsfor a certain award. The consumer may also know of a friend or relativewho has excess loyalty points in a geographic area that they wouldgladly transfer to the consumer in need of additional loyalty points.However, because many loyalty point accounts are associated with asingle consumer, existing loyalty systems do not allow a consumer toefficiently transfer loyalty points to another consumer loyalty pointaccount. Moreover, while some loyalty accounts may allow the consumer touse the loyalty points in a geographic area to purchase gifts forothers, the loyalty points are not sufficiently transferable to anotherconsumer such that the other consumer can purchase the same gift oraggregate points for a different gift.

Moreover, to promote loyalty to a particular company, many of theabove-described loyalty programs are sponsored by and operated by acompany such that the consumers are typically required to earn and burnthe loyalty points through the same company. As such, a particularsponsoring company may market its own loyalty points under a particulartrademark (e.g., Membership Rewards sponsored by American Express,DeltaMiles sponsored by Delta Airlines, Hilton Rewards sponsored byHilton Hotels, ePloids sponsored by Frito-Lay and FlightFund sponsoredby America West Airlines) and maintain loyalty point accounts for eachconsumer, wherein the accounts include only loyalty points associatedwith the sponsoring company. Accordingly, the consumers in thesponsoring company loyalty program typically earn loyalty points fromthe sponsoring company, then the consumers spend the sponsored loyaltypoints on reward items offered by the sponsoring company.

However, it is often difficult for an individual sponsoring company tooffer a sufficiently wide range of reward items in certain geographicareas to satisfy the varied interests of its consumers. Moreover, manyof the consumers may only engage in a limited amount of business in acertain geographic area with the particular sponsoring company and/ormay only earn a limited amount of sponsored loyalty points from thesponsoring company within the geographic area. As such, a consumer'sloyalty point account with the sponsoring company may include a minimalamount of loyalty points in a geographic area and the minimal pointbalance may be insufficient to obtain any desired reward item in thegeographic area. Additionally, even if a consumer obtains a sufficientpoint balance in a geographic area with a particular sponsoring company,the consumer may not be interested in redeeming the points for any ofthe limited reward items in the geographic area offered by the company,the consumer may forget or ignore the existence of the point balanceand/or the consumer may not desire to spend the time reviewing thereward items or completing the redemption information. In theseexemplary situations, the loyalty point account may only be rarely usedor may remain inactive.

The sponsoring company often maintains hundreds or thousands of loyaltypoint accounts for current and past consumers; however, possible publicrelations, marketing and legal implications exist with a sponsoringcompany simply canceling certain loyalty point accounts or settingexpiration dates on points. As such, the sponsoring company usuallycontinues to maintain the rarely used or inactive loyalty pointaccounts. However, accounting and legal guidelines typically require asponsoring company to include all of the loyalty point balances,including balances from the rarely used loyalty point accounts, asliabilities on its accounting statements. As such, a need exists for asystem and method for reducing or eliminating certain loyalty accountbalances and providing certain consumers with new ways to aggregate andredeem geographic-based loyalty point balances.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The invention includes facilitating the substantially realtime pooling,gifting or transferring of geographic area loyalty points betweenaccounts. The invention also facilitates a transfer of geographic arealoyalty points from at least one consumer account associated with asponsoring company to at least one consumer account associated with ahost company. The invention may also facilitate gifting of loyaltypoints to charitable organizations on a recurring basis, wherein thegifting may transfer any portion of geographic based points to variouscharities. The charities may or may not be located in the samegeographic area as where the loyalty points where earned. The system mayalso convert the geographic area loyalty points to a monetary value,thereby allowing the points to be donated to a charity such that thedonation appears to be a monetary value donation to the charity.

More particularly, the invention includes a method for facilitating atransfer of loyalty points between at least two loyalty accounts,wherein the loyalty points are associated with a geographic area, bymaintaining a database for storing geographic area loyalty points in atleast one loyalty account corresponding to at least one consumer;receiving a transfer request to transfer a number of geographic arealoyalty points from a first loyalty account to at least a second loyaltyaccount; determining a geographic area related to the geographic arealoyalty points requested for transfer; acquiring data related to ageographic area loyalty point balance of a first loyalty account;deducting a portion of the geographic area loyalty point balance of saidfirst loyalty account; and, crediting a geographic area loyalty pointbalance of said second loyalty account. The transfer request mayinclude, for example, receiving a request from a consumer associatedwith the first loyalty account, receiving a request from a consumerassociated with the second loyalty account, receiving a request from athird party, receiving a request based upon a triggering event orreceiving a request to return points to the first loyalty account. Atriggering event may include, for example, a request, the first loyaltyaccount having a geographic area loyalty point balance which is below acertain threshold amount, the first loyalty account remaining inactivefor a certain time period, a predetermined time period, a certain date,a random date, a requested time, a certain formula, an event, anon-event, or a predetermined data point.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived byreferring to the detailed description and claims when considered inconnection with the Figures, wherein like reference numbers refer tosimilar elements throughout the Figures, and:

FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 are schematic block diagrams illustrating exemplaryincentive systems in accordance with various aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for instantenrollment at a point-of-sale in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary central rewardsmechanism in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary rewards server inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for capturingand processing POS SKU data in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for associatingSKU data and UPC data in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary profiling system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary profiler inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for generatinga purchaser profile in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process forstandardizing a transaction file in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, the present invention includes facilitating the transfer,gifting and/or pooling of geographic area loyalty points betweenaccounts. In an exemplary embodiment, the invention includesfacilitating the substantially realtime transfer of loyalty pointsbetween accounts. Many consumers may transfer geographic area points toone consumer to thereby pool points.

The geographic area loyalty points may be earned in a first geographicarea, so the system may include rules or restrictions related to thetransferring, gifting or pooling of geographic area loyalty points basedupon the existing geographic area loyalty points which may exist in theaccounts. For example, points earned from New York retailers may only becombined with other points which were earned from New York Cityretailers. Similarly, in other embodiments, points earned from New Yorkretailers may be combined with points earned in the Northeast region ofthe United States. In one embodiment, the geographic area designation ofany portion of the transferred points may change based upon thegeographic designation of all or any portion of the points within therecipient account. For example, a free New York restaurant certificatemay require 20,000 points. However, if the consumer only has 19,000 NewYork points in his loyalty account, the consumer may request that afriend that has an extra 1,000 Arizona loyalty points in her accountimmediately transfer the 1,000 points to the consumer's loyalty account,thereby converting the geographic designation of the 1,000 Arizonapoints to 1,000 New York points to increase the total New York loyaltypoints in the consumer's loyalty account to 20,000 loyalty points,thereby allowing the consumer to immediately utilize the 20,000 New Yorkloyalty points to obtain the New York restaurant certificate.

While the invention will be discussed in terms of a general transfer ofgeographic area loyalty points, one skilled in the art will appreciatethat the transfer may include a deduction from a first account and acrediting of a second account with any type or portion of points (orpoints converted to another geographic designation). Moreover, thetransfer may involve any portion of the points transferred in real-time,certain points transferred in a batch transfer, certain pointstransferred upon a triggering event, certain points transferred overtime and/or certain points transferred upon satisfaction of a conditionor rule.

In one embodiment, the system includes any hardware and/or softwarediscussed herein or known in the art suitably configured for receiving atransfer request (e.g., consumer request, triggering event, etc) for atransfer of a any portion of geographic area loyalty points, accessingand analyzing the total number of geographic area loyalty points in thetransferor account to determine if a sufficient number of points exist,analyzing the type/level of consumer and type/level of points to beinvolved in the transfer, determining if any rules exist for restrictingor limiting the transfer of geographic area points, using a conversionengine to convert the point value or geographic area designation to anappropriate point value or geographic area designation in the transfereeaccount, deducting the requested loyalty points from the transferoraccount, and increasing the point balance in the transferee account.

Loyalty points may be located in a consumer account wherein the consumeraccount may be associated with a consumer ID. As described herein inmore detail, the consumer account and consumer ID may include any formof account or identification for an account. The consumer account may beassociated with an organization, charity, a primary member, asupplementary member and/or more than one member. Certain consumeraccounts may include aggregate consumer accounts which include aplurality of primary and/or supplementary members. As such, the transferof points as discussed herein may include the transfer of points betweenprimary and supplementary members, between primary members, betweensupplementary members, between a member and an organization and/or amember and a charity.

The consumers or loyalty points may be classified into variousgeographic areas, levels, classes or types such that the transfer ofpoints may be limited to transferring points associated with certaingeographic areas, between certain consumers only and/or betweenconsumers in different levels, classes or types. For example, a GoldClub consumer may only be allowed to transfer Texas points to other GoldClub consumers having pre-existing Texas points in their accounts. Inanother embodiment, consumers associated with a certain organization orcompany can only transfer Kentucky points to other consumers associatedwith the same organization or company. For example, an IBM employee cantransfer Kentucky points to another IBM employee, wherein thetransferred points can still only be used in Kentucky. In anotherembodiment, a consumer may only be allowed to transfer certaingeographic area points to the consumer's employer or to a charitableorganization.

The geographic area loyalty point balance may be stored as a pointtotal, a number, a letter, a level, a code, a value and/or the like.Moreover, the loyalty points may include various geographic areas,types, levels or classes of points such that the transfer of points maybe limited to transferring only certain points between consumers. Assuch, while the point transfer is discussed herein with respect todeducting and increasing certain accounts, the invention contemplatesthat the transfer may include a conversion of points to anothergeographic area, type, level or class without (or in addition to)deducting or increasing points. For example, the system may allow aconsumer to transfer level 1, Wyoming points to other consumers, but notallow the consumer to transfer level 2, Oklahoma points. When combinedwith other embodiments, the system may also allow only certain types ofpoints to be transferred to only certain types of consumers. Forexample, only Seattle level 1 points may be transferred to Gold Clubconsumers and only Los Angeles level 2 points may be transferred toGreen Club consumers. In another embodiment, loyalty points associatedwith different geographic areas, levels, classes or types may all befreely transferable to any consumer.

In another exemplary embodiment, the present invention facilitates thetransfer of any portion of loyalty point balances from at least onesponsored account which includes sponsored loyalty points to at leastone host account associated with a particular host. As used herein, a“sponsoring company” includes any person, entity, software and/orhardware that facilitates the issuing of points to its consumersincluding a company (e.g., hotel, airline, car rental, transaction cardissuer, charity) and/or parent organizations, joint ventures,affiliates, subsidiaries, comarketers, co-sponsors, divisions and/or anyrelated entities. As used herein, “sponsored loyalty points” includeloyalty points associated with a sponsoring company. The sponsoringcompany may operate and sponsor a geographic area loyalty program byallowing consumers to earn geographic area loyalty points associatedwith the sponsoring company. The sponsoring company also maintains oneor more geographic area loyalty point accounts for each consumer,wherein the system stores a balance of the sponsored loyalty pointsearned by the particular consumer. A “host” includes any person, entity,software, and/or hardware that receives the transferred geographic arealoyalty points, facilitates the transfer of loyalty points and/oraggregates loyalty points associated with the same consumer. The hostcompany may be another sponsoring company.

In accordance with the present invention, geographic area loyalty pointsassociated with a certain geographic area loyalty system may also betransferred to other loyalty point accounts within the same geographicarea loyalty system or to a loyalty point account in any othergeographic area or in any other loyalty point system. For example,Hilton Reward, Dallas points may be transferred to a United Airlinesfrequent flyer account having Paris points. In one embodiment, aconversion engine facilitates any point value or geographic areaconversions that may be appropriate. For example, if a consumer desiresto transfer five hundred Hilton Reward, Dallas points to a UnitedAirlines frequent flyer account having Paris points, the conversionengine may determine that the five hundred Hilton Rewards, Dallas pointsonly translate into one hundred United Airlines frequent flyer Parispoints. As such, the system would only increase the United Airlinesfrequent flyer account by one hundred Paris points. The rules orformulas associated with the conversion engine may be pre-established bythe loyalty point system hosts. For additional details, see U.S. Ser.No. 10/378,456, filed on Mar. 3, 2003, by Antonucci, et al., andentitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REAL-TIME TRANSFER OF LOYALTY POINTSBETWEEN ACCOUNTS,” which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The transfer of any portion of geographic area loyalty points in aconsumer account may be initiated upon a triggering event such as, forexample, a request by the transferor, a request by a transferee, arequest by a loyalty system host, a request by a third party, a transferon a certain date or time, a percentage of points transferred duringcertain time periods and/or an automatic transfer upon a pre-establishedcondition or data point. For example, the system may include apre-established condition that any New York points in excess of 100,000New York points are automatically transferred to a supplementaryaccount. In another embodiment, upon each birthday of a certain child,the child's loyalty account is credited a certain amount and geographicarea designation of points from the parent loyalty account. Similarly,on every employment yearly anniversary date, an employee may receive50,000 Seattle loyalty points from her employer loyalty account. Inanother embodiment, a pre-established condition may be a transfer ofgeographic area loyalty points based upon input of public or privatedata points. For example, transferring 30,000 San Francisco loyaltypoints when the stock market rises above 10,000, company revenue exceeds$2 million or the company stock hits $20.

The transfer may also include certain conditions that must be met priorto, during and/or after the transfer. If certain conditions are not met,the transfer may be voided or expire and/or any portion of the loyaltypoints may be returned to the original transferor, to the loyaltysystem, to another consumer loyalty account or to any other third party.For example, after receiving transferred geographic area loyalty points,if the transferee does not earn a certain amount of the same geographicarea loyalty points on her own, the transferred geographic area loyaltypoints are transferred to another supplementary member.

The consumer loyalty system and/or any other third party may alsoestablish certain rules or criteria for determining which consumers orgeographic area loyalty point accounts should participate in thetransfer of geographic area points, the portion of points that aretransferred, and which loyalty accounts should be credited with thetransferred points. The rules may include a transfer of points upon, forexample, consumer accounts having geographic area loyalty point balanceswhich are below a certain threshold amount, consumer accounts which haveremained inactive for a certain time period or a request by the consumeror a third party. For example, the system may store a rule that flagsany account that includes less than 500 New York City points. Moreover,the system may allow a consumer to enter a webpage or call a customerservice representative to request that the consumer's own account beflagged such that the system will transfer any requested number ofgeographic area loyalty points to a second loyalty account upon acertain condition related to setting the flag. The transfer ofgeographic area points may occur at any predetermined time periods,certain dates, random dates and/or only at a requested time. The amountand/or geographic area designation of points to transfer may include aset amount of points, all of the points, any subset of points, anincreasing amount of points, a decreasing amount of points and/or anamount of points based upon a certain formula, event or non-event (e.g.,transfer 500 Chicago points away from a consumer loyalty account foreach month the consumer does not rent a car from a particular rentalcompany).

The system may also credit any portion of the geographic area loyaltypoints to one or more loyalty point accounts. For example, the consumermay request that the geographic area loyalty points be transferred to anaccount associated with a family member, a friend, a charitableorganization and/or the like. In this manner, while the individualconsumer accounts include minimal amounts of points which are ofteninsufficient for the individual consumer to utilize for any large rewarditem, the charitable organization may be able to acquire a large amountof points from numerous consumer accounts in order to obtain largerreward items.

After the system checks any established rules, the system determineswhich consumer accounts meet the rules. The system may then flag theparticular accounts and send a list of consumer accounts which meet therules to the host system. In another embodiment, the loyalty system mayestablish or activate accounts associated with other people ororganizations that may receive the transferred points, such as, forexample, a United Way account. In one embodiment, the system may notifythe consumer of the transfer of the geographic area points and/orprovide the consumer with the option to keep the consumer account openor to close the consumer account if all points are transferred toanother account. The system may then eliminate, close, or flag asinactive the consumer account. By transferring the geographic arealoyalty points from certain inactive consumer accounts to the accountsof consumers that desire the extra points, the loyalty system eliminatesor reduces the number of geographic area loyalty point accounts from itssystem, thereby reducing the sponsoring company accounting liabilitiesand providing new options for the consumers to redeem the points oraggregated points in another loyalty program.

The invention also includes a geographic area loyalty point donationsystem. In one embodiment, loyalty points may be donated from a donor toa charity, wherein the donated points are converted to a monetary valueor goods and services, prior to donation to the charity. In analternative embodiment, a charity may accumulate loyalty points frommany donors, then redeem the points for goods or services at a latertime. The invention may also include an automatic bill paymentenrollment system for recurring donations of geographic area loyaltypoints (or the monetary value of the points). The system links aDonation Portal to an enrollment site, thereby allowing consumers toautomatically charge charitable donations on a recurring basis to theconsumer's loyalty account which may be associated with a transactioncard. For example, in one embodiment, the consumer may authorize and thesystem may implement a transfer of 1000 New York City points annually toa desired college and 200 Chicago loyalty points annually to anothercharity such as Save the Children. Alternatively, the member mayauthorize a 100 Phoenix point transfer or gift to a desired college anda 20 Denver point monthly transfer to a different charity.

In one embodiment, the invention uses a Donation Portal having databasesthat interface with government Internal Revenue Service databases suchthat the member may donate geographic area loyalty points to virtuallyany of the U.S. 501(c)(3) organizations for tax deduction purposes. Inan alternative embodiment, a donor may donate geographic area loyaltypoints to any other desired organizations in the U.S. The system mayalso incorporate various filters or donation analysis software to complywith government guidelines such as, for example, The Office of ForeignAssets Control (OFAC) which outlines requirements for restrictingdonations being sent to terrorist organizations.

In another exemplary embodiment, the invention also includesfunctionality to facilitate employee gift matching by providing an emailto the donor to confirm the donation. In that regard, the system allowsan employee to donate geographic area loyalty points through thedonation website and then submit its email receipt as documentation foran employer gift matching program. In various embodiments, the systemmay allow the employee to simply forward an email to its employer, allowthe employee or employer to enter data into certain webpages, allow theemployer to have certain access rights to verify donations by anemployee, or allow reports to employers in any desired format or medium.The invention may then allow the employer to automatically contributecorporate geographic area points or any other donation to the samecharity through an employer matching program. The invention may alsoprovide for automated donation verification with employers, wherebyinformation related to employee donations are automatically forwarded toemployers for verification purposes. For additional details, see, forexample, U.S. Ser. No. 10/707,715, filed on Jan. 6, 2004, by Aviles, etal., and entitled “Donation System and Method,” which is herebyincorporated by reference.

The system may also convert the geographic area loyalty points to amonetary value, thereby allowing the points to be donated to a charitysuch that the donation appears to be a monetary value donation to thecharity. The system converts the geographic area loyalty points to acurrency credit and posts the credit to a charity account, where thecharity account is generally a financial transaction account, such as acharge card, that is used to facilitate a transaction. For additionaldetails, see, for example, U.S. Ser. No. 09/834,478, filed on Apr. 13,2001, by Chien, et al., and entitled “System and Method for UsingLoyalty Points,” which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The present invention also includes a system and method wherein loyaltypoints may be earned within a specific geographic location, then burnedin one geographic location, a subset of locations or withoutrestrictions. Similarly, the loyalty points may be earned in onegeographic location, a subset of locations or without restrictions, thenburned only in a specific geographic location. Details of the earn andburn process will be described in more detail below. Interaction withthe system may include communication to customer servicerepresentatives, entry into webpages or any of the computing devices setforth herein. The financial or loyalty accounts may or may not beassociated with any of the transaction accounts or cards set forthbelow.

The geographic features of the system may be implemented using new typesof data collected during the transaction or using existing data that istypically collected in a transaction, wherein the existing data may alsobe associated with geographic areas such as, for example, zip codes,retailer identification codes, service establishment codes, SKU codes,UPC manufacturer codes and/or the like. The collected information may beassociated with any previously known information to perform dataanalysis related to the loyalty program on a local or network level(described in more detail below).

The geographic information may be associated with the consumer,merchant, processing system and/or any other part of the overall system.For example, a consumer may have a home zip code in New jersey with awork zip code in New York City, so the system may determine that theconsumer still qualifies for reward points from merchants with zip codesbased in New York City. The system may also determine that a “doublepoint” promotion may apply to purchases of products originating frommanufacturers in Tennessee. In a more complex embodiment, the system mayencourage New jersey residents to shop for soap products from an Arizonamanufacturer (e.g., Dial Corporation) which are sold by a New Yorkmerchant. As such, the system may acquire, utilize and/or associate theconsumer home zip code, the merchant building zip code, and the SKUinformation from the soap. In another embodiment, the rewards may have atheme related to the city. For example, New Orleans awards may berelated to Jazz shows and Mardi Gras activities, while New York Cityawards may be related to Broadway shows, dining and other entertainmentor sports venues. The awards may also include full geographic“experiences” such as, for example, dinner, backstage passes, cocktailswith the cast, and movie premiers.

The system may include online interfaces, dial-up interfaces through POSterminals or any of the other hardware, software and communicationsdiscussed herein. In one embodiment, the system is configured with oneproduct platform with a modularized approach to facilitate thedevelopment of market specific rewards and communication materials.Particularly, any geographic location and associated merchants may beinput into a version of the present invention such that the inventionfacilitates similar features and functions in any newly createdgeographic region. For example, the system may be fully functional withvarious merchants, rewards and residents in the Manhattan, N.Y. area.Different data may be inputted into the same system in order tofacilitate similar functionality in the Phoenix, Ariz. area, along withcreating rewards and marketing material related to Phoenix merchants.

In this regard, a participant may use a particular ID or password toaccess the system online, wherein the particular ID instructs the systemto provide functions and marketing materials or displays related to theappropriate geographical region. For example, inputting ID #1234 into aweb site may result in a web page displaying various rewards redeemableat various Manhattan merchants. Similarly, inputting ID #5678 into thesame web site may result in a web page displaying various rewardsredeemable at various Phoenix merchants. The transaction card of thepresent invention may include a dual purpose transaction device whichcombines geographic-based loyalty functionality, financial transactionfunctionality (e.g., charge card) and access functionality (e.g., accessto public transportation, including payment of the transportation fare).The card may include one or more magnetic stripes related to eachfunctionality. The card or other transponder device may alternativelyinclude two different RFID signals for each functionality.

As used herein, a “geographic area” or similar terms may include all orany portion of any street, city, county, state, country, continent,region (e.g., SoHo district, Chinatown), or any other areas, includingcombinations or subsets of areas. The geographic areas may relate to anyof the participants, products, services or identifications. Thegeographic areas may relate to any associated geographic area such as,for example, a geographic area associated with a participant's homeresidence, work residence, travel areas or the like. The geographic areamay also be automatically established based on the geographic area wherea participant is located at the time (or at any established time period)based on, for example, cellular phone caller location relative tocellular towers or a global positioning system. The geographic areas mayalso be associated with where the product is manufactured, distributed,sold or the like. Moreover, while certain embodiments may refer to onlya specific geographic area for brevity, the invention also contemplatesother similar embodiments for multiple geographic areas or subsets ofareas.

As used herein, “participant” may include any user, person, entity,charitable organization, machine, hardware, software, merchant orbusiness who accesses and uses the system of the invention, includingconsumers (such as primary members and supplementary members of anaggregate consumer account), retailers, manufacturers, and third-partyproviders, including any subsets, groups or combinations thereof.Participants in the system may interact with one another either onlineor off-line. The terms “participant”, “purchaser”, “customer”,“consumer”, “primary member”, and “end-user” may be used interchangeablywith each other, and each shall mean any person, entity, charitableorganization, or business which uses a consumer ID to participate in thepresent system. The participant may reside in a geographic area and workin a different geographic area.

As used herein, the term “online” refers to interactive communicationsthat take place between participants who are remotely located from oneanother, including communication through any of the networks orcommunications means described herein or the like.

The term “manufacturer” shall include any participant, person, entity,charitable organization, machine, software, hardware, and/or the likethat manufactures, distributes, or originates a product or service whichmay ultimately be offered to a consumer directly or indirectly through aretailer. The term “manufacturer” may also include any party thatgenerates and/or provides manufacturer item identifiers. Themanufacturer item identifier may include information related to thegeographic area of the item or the geographic area of the manufacturer'smanufacturing plant, headquarters or divisions.

The term “retailer” shall include any person, entity, charitableorganization, machine, software, hardware, and/or the like that thatoffers a product or service to a consumer. As used herein, the term“retailer” is used interchangeably with the term “merchant”. Moreover,in this context, a retailer or merchant may offer or sell, either onlineor offline, products and/or services made or supplied by at least onemanufacturer. The retailer or any distributors, suppliers, affiliates,franchises and the like may be located in one or more geographic areas.

As used herein, the phrases “network level” and “network-wide level”shall refer to a system that includes more than one retailer.

A “consumer ID”, as used herein, includes any device, code, or otheridentifier suitably configured to allow a consumer to interact orcommunicate with the system, such as, for example, a rewards card,charge card, credit card, debit card, prepaid card, telephone card,smart card, magnetic stripe card, bar code card, authorization/accesscode, personal identification number (PIN), Internet code, or otheridentification code, signal or indicia. Additionally, a “consumer ID”may comprise any form of electronic, radio frequency, transponder,magnetic, and/or optical device capable of transmitting or downloadingdata from itself to a second device which is capable of interacting andcommunicating with such forms of consumer ID.

“Consumer enrollment data” may comprise any of the following: name;address; zip code; home geographic area; work geographic area; date ofbirth; social security number; email address; gender; the names of anyhousehold members; a credit card number for charging any fees that maybe associated with participation in the system; survey data; interests;educational level; spending trends; and/or any preferred brand names. Aconsumer may register to participate in the present system by anymethods known and practiced in the art. For example, a consumer may beenrolled automatically (e.g., if the consumer holds an existing consumeraccount with the system administrator), over the phone, at the point ofsale (e.g., through a paper application, a verbal interview, or instantenrollment using a retailer loyalty identifier, as described herein),through the mail, or through instant enrollment online. Upon enrollment,the consumer receives a consumer ID that is associated with a consumeraccount. Enrollment data may be updated periodically, either by theconsumer requesting that the data be updated to reflect changes oradditions or the system requesting that the consumer review and updatethe data as needed, for example.

As used herein, a “retailer loyalty identifier” may include any device,code, or other identifier which permits a consumer to interact orcommunicate with a retailer system, including a retailer terminal, andindicate their participation in a retailer loyalty program which may beoffered by a particular retailer or a group of retailers. Exemplaryretailer loyalty identifiers may comprise any of the following: arewards card, charge card, credit card, debit card, prepaid card,telephone card, smart card, magnetic stripe card, bar code card,authorization/access code, personal identification number (PIN),Internet code, other identification code, radio frequency card and/orthe like. Additionally, a retailer loyalty identifier may comprise anyform of plastic, electronic, magnetic, radio frequency, audio and/oroptical device capable of transmitting or downloading data from itselfto a second device which is capable of interacting and communicatingwith such retailer loyalty identifiers.

As used herein, a “consumer account” shall mean any account whichspecifies a consumer as a holder of the account and which posts,records, stores, or tracks a consumer's activity that is related toparticipation in the loyalty program. In one embodiment, the consumeraccount may post or record any of the following types of information:purchasing activity (e.g., items purchased and/or purchase amounts),reward points earning activity, reward points redemption activity, bonusofferings activity, and the like.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the consumer ID may beassociated with an aggregate consumer account which specifies theconsumer as a primary member and permits the association of any numberof supplementary members with the primary member. In one embodiment,supplementary members are affiliated with the primary member, such as bybeing a member of the primary member's household, business,organization, and the like. In another embodiment, supplementary membersare selected by the primary member for association with the primarymember's aggregate consumer account on any basis deemed suitable by theprimary member. For example, a primary member may associate friends,co-workers, family members, or any other group of individuals orentities. In one embodiment, both primary members and supplementarymembers may earn and redeem reward points which are posted to theaggregate consumer account or to any of several accounts that may beassociated with the aggregate consumer account. In another embodiment, asupplementary member may only redeem reward points which that particularsupplementary member has earned. In a further embodiment, asupplementary member may only redeem a quantity of reward points whichthe primary member has authorized for redemption by that particularsupplementary member. The primary and supplementary members may beassociated with the same, overlapping or different geographic areas.

As used herein, the phrase “aggregate consumer account” shall mean anyaccount which specifies a primary member and permits the association ofany number of supplementary members with the primary member. In oneembodiment, an aggregate account may be the sole account that associatesthe primary member with the supplementary members and reflects theactivity of the primary member and any supplementary members. In anotherembodiment, an aggregate consumer account may be associated withmultiple accounts that may each be associated with a supplementarymember. For example, an aggregate consumer account may aggregate andpost, record, store, or track all relevant activity engaged in by theprimary member and any supplementary members that are associated withthe aggregate consumer account. This aggregate activity may be reportedsolely to the primary member. Further, each supplementary member may beassociated with a sub-account which posts only activity engaged in bythe particular supplementary member. The activity in this sub-accountmay be reported only to the supplementary member associated with thesub-account. In this manner, the primary member may oversee the activityof each of the supplementary members, but each of the supplementarymembers cannot oversee the activity of either the primary member orother supplementary members.

The phrase “supplementary member” shall mean any person, entity,charitable organization, or business which uses a supplementary memberID to participate in the present system. It will be appreciated that, incertain contexts, the phrase “supplementary member” may be usedinterchangeably with the terms “purchaser”, “customer”, “consumer”, and“end-user”, since a “supplementary member” is a particular type of“consumer”. A “supplementary member ID”, as used herein, includes anydevice, code, or other identifier suitably configured to allow asupplementary member to interact or communicate with the system, suchas, for example, a rewards card, charge card, credit card, debit card,prepaid card, telephone card, smart card, magnetic stripe card, bar codecard, authorization/access code, personal identification number (PIN),Internet code, other identification code, and/or the like. Additionally,a “supplementary member ID” may comprise any form of electronic,magnetic, and/or optical device capable of transmitting or downloadingdata from itself to a second device which is capable of interacting andcommunicating with such forms of supplementary member ID.

A supplementary member may be registered to participate in the presentsystem by any methods known and practiced in the art. In one embodiment,a supplementary member is registered by a primary member. For example, asupplementary member may be enrolled by a primary member over the phone,at the point of sale (e.g., through a paper application, verbalinterview, or instant enrollment using a retailer loyalty identifier),through the mail, or through instant enrollment online. In anotherembodiment, a supplementary member is authorized to register by aprimary member, and the supplementary member self-enrolls in view of theauthorization. For example, a primary member may provide the systemadministrator with some indicia of authority to process the registrationof a supplementary member, if and when the authorized supplementarymember chooses to enroll in the system. The indicia of authority mayinclude any suitable information, such as, for example, any of thefollowing information regarding the supplementary member: name, address,social security number, employee number, date of birth, and the like.Supplementary member enrollment data may comprise any of the following:name; address; zip code; home geographic area; work geographic area;date of birth; social security number; email address; gender; a creditcard number for charging any fees that may be associated withparticipation in the system; survey data; interests; educational level;and/or any preferred brand names. Upon enrollment, the supplementarymember receives a supplementary member ID which is associated with theprimary member's aggregate consumer account. In one embodiment, thesupplementary member ID may also be associated with, related to,identical to, contain a portion of, or expand upon the primary member'sconsumer ID.

A “consumer profile”, as used herein, shall refer to any data used tocharacterize a consumer and/or the behavior of a consumer. In thecontext of a commercial transaction, “a consumer profile” shall beunderstood to include, for example, the time and date of a particularpurchase, the frequency of purchases, the volume/quantity of purchases,the transaction size (price), and/or the like. Additionally, in othertransactional contexts, the term “consumer profile” shall also beunderstood to include non-purchase behaviors of a consumer, such asconsumer enrollment data, visiting a Web site, referrals of prospectiveparticipants in the system, completion of a survey or other informationgathering instrument, and/or the like. For instance, a participatingonline consumer may earn reward points automatically through atriggering event, such as visiting a Web site, completing an onlinesurvey, or clicking on a banner advertisement for example. Offline, aparticipating consumer may earn reward points by completing a task orshowing their consumer ID to the cashier and triggering the cashier toprovide a “behavior” ID which may be input (e.g. by scanning a bar codeon a paper survey for example) into the POS terminal. Further, anyaspects of the consumer profile may be used in the context of dataanalysis.

A “supplementary member profile”, as used herein, shall refer to anydata used to characterize a supplementary member and/or the behavior ofa supplementary member. In the context of a commercial transaction, “asupplementary member profile”s hall be understood to include, forexample, the time and date of a particular purchase, the frequency ofpurchases, the volume/quantity of purchases, the transaction size(price), and/or the like. Additionally, in other transactional contexts,the term “supplementary member profile” shall also be understood toinclude non-purchase behaviors of a supplementary member, such assupplementary member enrollment data, visiting a Web site, referrals ofprospective participants in the system, completion of a survey or otherinformation gathering instrument, and/or the like. For instance, aparticipating online supplementary member may earn reward pointsautomatically through a triggering event, such as visiting a Web site,completing an online survey, or clicking on a banner advertisement forexample. Offline, a participating supplementary member may earn rewardpoints by completing a task or showing their supplementary member ID toa cashier and triggering the cashier to provide a “behavior” ID whichmay be input (e.g., by scanning a bar code on a paper survey forexample) into the POS terminal. Further, any aspects of thesupplementary member profile may be used in the context of dataanalysis.

A “third-party provider” may comprise any additional provider of goodsand/or services to a consumer. Specifically, a “third-party provider”includes any party other than the particular manufacturer and retailerwho is involved in a transaction with a consumer. A third-party providermay include, for example, a financial institution, such as a bank or anissuer of a financial instrument (such as a credit card or a debitcard). A third-party provider may also include a provider of goods andservices which are offered as awards to consumers in exchange for arequisite number of reward points.

Though the invention may generically be described with reference to aseries of transactions which transfer a good or service from anoriginating party to an intermediary party and a subsequent transactionwhich transfers the good or service from the intermediary party to anend-user of that good or service, for convenience and purposes ofbrevity and consistency, the present disclosure generally refers to theoriginating party as a “manufacturer”, the intermediary party as a“retailer”, the end-user as a “consumer” (including primary membersand/or supplementary members), and a good or service as a “product” or“item”. However, it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in theart that the retailer need not provide a product or item to a consumerin exchange for monetary currency. While this often may be the case, thepresent disclosure is not so limited and includes transactions which maybe gratuitous in nature, whereby the retailer transfers a product oritem to a consumer without the consumer providing any currency or othervalue in exchange. It is further noted that additional participants,referred to as third-party providers, may be involved in some phases ofthe transaction, though these participants are not shown. Exemplarythird-party providers may include financial institutions, such as banks,credit card companies, card sponsoring companies, or issuers of creditwho may be under contract with financial institutions. It will beappreciated that any number of consumers, retailers, manufacturers,third-party providers, and the like may participate in the system of thepresent invention.

As used herein, the term “UPC” and the phrase “manufacturer itemidentifier” shall refer to any symbol or indicia which providesinformation and, in an exemplary embodiment, shall refer to any number,code, or identifier assigned by a manufacturer and associated with anitem, including any type of goods and/or services, ultimately offered toa consumer or other end-user. The UPC may include geographic areainformation related to the origin of the product, where the product isbeing sold, the various geographic areas the product is distributedand/or the like.

A UPC is sometimes referred to as a SKU number. However, as used herein,the term “SKU” and the phrase “retailer item identifier” shall refer toany symbol or indicia which provides additional information and, in anexemplary embodiment, shall refer to any number, code, or identifierassigned by a retailer and associated with an item, including any typeof goods and/or services, offered to a consumer or other end-user (suchas a supplementary member for example). The SKU may include geographicarea information related to the origin of the product, where the productis being sold, the various geographic areas the product is distributedand/or the like.

“Purchase data”, as used herein, comprises data relating to the offer ofany item to a consumer, supplementary member, or other user of goodsand/or services. Purchase data may include data regarding any or all ofthe following: geographic area of purchase, an item purchased; an itemprice; a number of items purchased; a total transaction price; a paymentvehicle (e.g., cash, credit card, debit card, check, etc.); a time,date, and/or day of the week associated with a purchase; a storeidentifier; an employee identifier; a retailer item identifier; aloyalty identifier; a retailer loyalty identifier; a consumer's use of(which includes a reference to) a marketing offer (e.g., a coupon, abonus offering, reward points, etc.); whether a purchase transactiontakes place online or offline; and/or the like. In one embodiment,purchase data may also include any data relating to a product or servicewarranty that may apply to a purchased item. Such “warranty data” mayinclude any of the following: the duration of the manufacturer'swarranty, the scope of the warranty (e.g., limitations that may apply),any consumer purchased extensions of the manufacturer's warranty, andthe like.

“Retailer ID”, as used herein, comprises any symbol, indicia, code,number, or other identifier that may be associated with a retailer ofany type of goods and/or services offered to a consumer, supplementarymember, or other end-user. A retailer ID may also include or beassociated with a “store ID”, which designates the geographic area of aparticular store.

A “manufacturer ID” comprises any symbol, indicia, code, number, orother identifier that may be associated with a manufacturer of any typeof goods and/or services ultimately offered to a consumer, supplementarymember, or other end-user. A manufacturer ID may also include geographicarea information related to the location of a manufacturer (e.g.,headquarters, manufacturing facility), distributors, suppliers or thelike.

An “award” or “reward” may comprise any quantity of products, services,coupons, gift certificates, rebates, reward points, bonus points,credits or debits to a financial instrument, entertainment packages,theme packages of items, any combination of these, and/or the like.

A “purchaser profile”, as used herein, shall refer to and/or include anydata used to characterize a consumer and/or the behavior of a consumerand may be derived from other data, such as, for example, geographicarea information, consumer enrollment data and purchase data. A“purchaser profile” may include, and/or convey information regarding,any or all of the following: consumer enrollment data; the time, date,and/or day of the week of a particular purchase; the item(s) purchased;the price of the item(s) purchased; the purchase frequency forparticular items; the volume/quantity of purchases, either in terms oftotal dollars spent or item quantities; spend levels over the course ofa given time period; spend levels for a given category of products;responses to marketing offers; whether purchases were made online oroffline; the transaction size (price); a purchaser's brand preferences;a retailer item identifier; a manufacturer item identifier; theexistence and terms of a product warranty associated with an itempurchased; the status (e.g., current or almost expired) of a productwarranty associated with a purchased item; geographic area informationrelated to any of the foregoing information, and/or the like. It will beappreciated that while particular types of data may be described hereinas either “purchase data” or “enrollment data”, these categories of dataneed not be exclusive of one another and may overlap. For example, inalternate embodiments of the invention, data types that may be describedherein as “purchase data” may be included as “enrollment data”, and datatypes that may be described herein as “enrollment data” may be includedas “purchase data”. Moreover, in further embodiments, data types thatare described herein as being a part of one of these data categoriesmay, instead, be a part of the other data category.

“Data analysis”, as used herein, shall be understood to comprisequantitative and qualitative research, statistical modeling, regressionanalyses, market segmentation analyses, econometrics, and/or the like.Such analyses may be used to characterize a consumer, predict aconsumer's behavior, and/or correlate any of the following: a consumerprofile, a part of a consumer profile, a supplementary member profile, apart of a supplementary member profile, consumer enrollment data,purchase data, retailer data, manufacturer data, product or servicedata, and/or the like.

Since rewards, which may be in the form of reward points, may be earnedacross the various tiers and geographic areas in the network, rewardsmay also be used or spent across the various tiers and geographic areasin the network. Thus, any reward points that an employee, for example,may earn by promoting a particular manufacturer's line of products, maybe “spent” by that employee on goods or services provided by anyparticipant in the network, not merely at the retailer who employs thatemployee. Likewise, any reward points earned by a consumer may be spenton goods or services offered by any participant in the network. However,the earning or burning of the points may include geographic rules orrestrictions.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the use ofgeographic based loyalty points or rewards by the system facilitatesdata analysis on a network level based upon several factors, includingany of the following: geographic area, consumer ID, consumer profile,supplementary member ID, supplementary member profile, retailer ID, SKUnumber, UPC, manufacturer ID, and/or the like. The system may compileany of the above data across multiple participants for the purpose ofdata analysis, such as analyses which may be employed in strategicplanning and marketing for example. The system of the invention may beused to compile, analyze, and report data in a manner which would informany or all network participants that, for example, a specific consumer(1) has made multiple purchases of particular manufacturers″ products ina certain geographic area; (2) has spent Q dollars over a certain timeperiod in a certain geographic area; (3) at specific multiple retailersin certain geographic areas; and (4) of the purchases made, R dollarswent towards the purchase of Product 1 manufactured in a certaingeographic area, S dollars went towards the purchase of Product 2 soldin a certain geographic area, and T dollars went towards the purchase ofService 1 offered in a certain geographic area. Moreover, the system maybe used to compile, analyze, and report data that enable a retailer, amanufacturer, and/or a third-party provider to create a variety oftargeted marketing promotions, such as, for example, (1) marketingProduct 1 offered by Manufacturer 1 to consumers in a certain geographicarea who purchase Product 2 offered by Manufacturer 2; (2) marketingProduct 1 offered by Manufacturer 1 and sold by Retailer X to consumersin a certain geographic area who purchase Product 2 offered byManufacturer 2 at Retailer Y; and/or (3) marketing Product 1 offered byManufacturer 1 and sold by Retailer X to consumers in a certaingeographic area who purchase Product 2 offered by Manufacturer 2 atRetailer Y five times a year. It will be appreciated that these are buta few of the many possible applications for data gathered and generatedby the system of the present invention.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the systemadministrator may allocate reward points to participants in the system.The reward points may be associated with a particular geographic area.In one embodiment, participating retailers and/or manufacturers in acertain geographic area may purchase geographic area specific pointsfrom the system administrator and the points are then allocated to anaccount associated with the retailer and/or manufacturer. For example, aNew York City retailer near Broadway may purchase 1,000 points which,when a sufficient number are collected, entitle the consumer to a freeBroadway show next to the retailer's place of business. In an alternateembodiment, the system administrator may give or donate points toparticipating retailers and/or manufacturers. The system administratormaintains an account with each of the participating retailers andmanufacturers and tracks available points balances and/or balances owingon a rolling basis. The points purchased by the retailers and/ormanufacturers may then be earned by and issued to consumers in a mannerthat is predetermined by the retailer and/or manufacturer involved inthe transaction with the consumer.

For example, Retailer 1 may purchase 10,000 points from the systemadministrator and then offer consumers 1 point for every $10 dollarsspent in Retailer 1″s store or, perhaps, some number of points for everyfifth transaction in the store. Moreover, Manufacturer 1 located inMichigan, who produces the product offered by Retailer 1 in Michigan,may also purchase points from the system administrator. Thus, when aconsumer purchases Manufacturer 1″s product at Retailer 1, Manufacturer1 may issue some number of points to the consumer, wherein the pointsentitle the consumer to a free dinner at a Detroit restaurant. Theissuance of points, either by retailers or manufacturers, may be basedupon any selected criteria, including a points-for-dollars ratio orpercentage, a defined quantity of points per item or per transaction,some combination of these, and/or the like. The issuance of points mayalso include ratios based upon geographic area. For example, 1000 pointsto be redeemed in Detroit may be purchased for $1000, but the same 1000points to be redeemed in New York City may cost $2000 because therewards may be more expensive (e.g., more expensive for a dinner).

The system administrator maintains an account for each participatingconsumer and apprises the consumer of the points totals and accountactivity. The consumer may have one (or a subset of accounts) whichinclude points associated with different geographic areas or separateaccounts for each geographic area. The consumer may search or viewpoints based upon geographic area designation or combinations ofdesignations. The system may allow the consumer to transfer points fromone geographic area designation to another geographic area designationor combine points from different designations, wherein the transfer orcombining may include a transfer ratio. For example, the consumer mayonly be allowed to transfer 1000 New York City points to 500 Denverpoints. The consumer may review the total number of points in theaccount either online or off-line, such as through a periodic statementsent by the system administrator or through the use of a communicationsnetwork, such as the Internet, for example. Points in the consumer'saccount may be accumulated across the multiple retailers and/ormanufacturers participating in the system and the accumulation may belimited to combining points from similar geographic areas. Thus, pointsearned by a consumer based upon transactions with different retailersand/or manufacturers in the same geographic area may combined, resultingin a rapid accrual of points.

The system administrator offers a catalog of products and servicesrelated to different geographic areas, which may be either online oroff-line, from which consumers may select rewards in exchange for theapplicable accrued points. In this manner, consumers advantageously earnpoints based upon their everyday purchases of products and services in acertain geographic area, these points are accrued across retailersand/or manufacturers in a certain geographic area, and points redemptiontakes place through a catalog of rewards from the same geographic area.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the systemadministrator may maintain an aggregate consumer account for aparticipating consumer (primary member) regardless of the geographicarea where the points are, or may be, earned. The aggregate consumeraccount is established, for example, by the primary member, who enrollsor permits enrollment of any number of supplementary members who areidentified by the primary member, wherein the supplementary members mayobtain points in the same or different geographic area as the primarymember. In one embodiment, a consumer may establish an aggregateconsumer account to encompass members of the primary member's household,business, charitable organization, and the like. In another embodiment,supplementary members are selected by the primary member for associationwith the primary member's aggregate consumer account on any basis deemedsuitable by the primary member. For example, a primary member mayassociate friends, co-workers, family members, or any other group ofindividuals or entities in the same or different geographic area as theprimary member. In one embodiment, each supplementary member isassociated with a supplementary member ID number, which uniquelyidentifies the supplementary member (e.g., as Supplementary Member 1,Supplementary Member 2, etc.) and which affiliates the supplementarymember with the primary member, a geographic area associated with theprimary member, the primary member's consumer ID, and/or the primarymember's aggregate consumer account. As discussed herein, thesupplementary member accounts may be aggregated or divided by geographicarea.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, supplementary members mayboth earn reward points and redeem reward points based upon theirparticipation in the system of the invention. In one embodiment, thesupplementary member ID is used to identify reward points earningtransactions and reward points redemption transactions engaged in by aparticular supplementary member, as distinguished from transactionsengaged in by the primary member or other supplementary members of theaggregate consumer account. In this manner, the aggregate consumeraccount may track aggregate points totals and account activity for allmembers (primary and supplementary) of the aggregate consumer account aswell as track particular point totals and account activity for eachmember (primary and supplementary) of the aggregate consumer account. Inone embodiment, a primary member may redeem all or any of the rewardpoints accumulated in the aggregate consumer account in the same ordifferent geographic area as the supplementary members. In anotherembodiment, a primary member may designate a particular supplementarymember(s) as eligible to redeem any or all of the reward points in theaggregate consumer account and the primary member or any otherparticipant may limit the redemption to a specific geographic area. In afurther embodiment, each supplementary member may redeem those rewardpoints which have been earned by the particular supplementary member ina specific geographic area. In still another embodiment, a supplementarymember may only redeem a quantity of reward points which the primarymember has authorized for redemption by that particular supplementarymember in a specific geographic area. In yet another embodiment, a firstsupplementary member may designate a second supplementary member aseligible to redeem in a specific geographic area any or all of thereward points earned by the first supplementary member in a specificgeographic area.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a consumer may review thetotal number of points in an account either online or off-line, such asthrough a periodic statement sent by the system administrator or throughthe use of a communications network, such as the Internet, for example.Points in the consumer'″ account are accumulated across the multipleretailers and/or manufacturers participating in the system. Thus, pointsearned by a consumer based upon transactions with different retailersand/or manufacturers in a specific geographic area are combined,resulting in a rapid accrual of points. The system administrator offersa catalog of products and services, which may be either online oroff-line, from which consumers may select rewards in exchange foraccrued points. In this manner, consumers advantageously earn pointsbased upon their everyday purchases of products and services in aspecific geographic area, and these points are accrued across retailersand/or manufacturers in a specific geographic area.

In one embodiment, a consumer may redeem earned points through aspecific geographic area catalog of rewards, which may include productsand services offered by any number of merchants in a specific geographicarea, which merchants may or may not be participants in the system. Thecatalog may be offered to the consumer in both online and offlineformats. In another embodiment, a consumer may redeem earned pointsthrough a customized online catalog, which presents to the consumer asub-set of rewards from the catalog in a specific geographic area thatare particularly relevant to the consumer. The relevance of particularrewards to the consumer may be defined based upon any suitable criteria,such as the consumer's self-characterization (such as by indicating andinputting particular demographics information through a suitable userinterface, as is well-known and practiced in the art) or the consumer'sreward points total in a specific geographic area, for example. Thecustomized online catalog may also include products and services offeredby any number of merchants in a specific geographic area.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a primary member maypermit a supplementary member to access and review, through the use of asuitable communications network (such as the Internet for example), thetotal number of points in any geographic area in an aggregate consumeraccount. Alternatively, a primary member may permit a supplementarymember to access and review only the number of points earned by thatparticular supplementary member in a specific geographic area. As withprimary members, points earned by supplementary members are accumulatedacross the multiple retailers and/or manufacturers in a specificgeographic area participating in the system. Thus, points earned by asupplementary member based upon transactions with different retailersand/or manufacturers in a specific geographic area are combined,resulting in a rapid accrual of points.

In one embodiment, supplementary members may redeem accumulated rewardpoints through the above-described catalog as well as the customizedonline catalog. Alternatively, supplementary members may redeem rewardpoints at one or more sub-catalogs for a specific geographic area thatmay target a particular type of supplementary member in a specificgeographic area. The type of supplementary member targeted by asub-catalog may be defined by any suitable criteria, such as thespecific geographic area of the member or where the points were earned,capacity for lesser or greater point accumulation, consumer marketsegment, demographics information, products related to or similar topreviously purchased products, profile information, and the like.Examples of the types of supplementary members may include youngerhousehold members, such as children or teenagers for example; particularclasses or categories of employees, such as staff members or seniorexecutives; members of a charitable organization, such as volunteers orofficers of the Board of Directors; and the like. In one embodiment, asub-catalog may offer items having a lower monetary value in a specificgeographic area (as reflected in the redemption points value of theoffered items) than items offered in the catalog. In another embodiment,each supplementary member's accumulated reward points total in aspecific geographic area is matched, according to a volume of totalpoints, with a corresponding sub-catalog in a specific geographic area,and a supplementary member who seeks to redeem accumulated reward pointsis automatically directed to that particular sub-catalog in response toa request for redemption. In one embodiment, any reward pointsredemption transactions by a supplementary member in a specificgeographic area results in a corresponding reduction in the aggregateaccumulated reward points total of the aggregate consumer account in aspecific geographic area as well as a reduction of the particularsupplementary member's reward points total in a specific geographicarea.

In accordance with the present invention, FIG. 1 is a diagramillustrating an exemplary embodiment of an incentive or loyalty system100. System 100 comprises a central rewards mechanism 102; a pluralityof retailer/merchant systems 104; and at least one manufacturer 106. Oneskilled in the art will appreciate that system 100 may comprise anynumber of retailer systems 104 and any number of manufacturers 106.

The central rewards mechanism 102 manages the incentive or loyaltyprogram of system 100. In an exemplary embodiment, central rewardsmechanism 102 receives, processes, and stores manufacturer data, such asinformation regarding products, services, geographic area informationand UPC data, transmitted by manufacturers 106 who have enrolled in thesystem 100. Manufacturers 106 may transmit data to central rewardsmechanism 102 in any form and by any means known in the art, includingany of the communications means described herein. The manufacturer datais stored by the central rewards mechanism 102 in database 103. Asdescribed in further detail below, database 103 may be any type ofdatabase, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or thelike. Common database products that may be used to implement database103 include DB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), any of the databaseproducts available from Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.),Microsoft Access by Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), or any otherdatabase product. Database 103 may be organized in any suitable manner,including as data tables or lookup tables.

The central rewards mechanism 102 may receive and process, geographicarea information, consumer ID or supplementary member ID information andpurchase data from any of the retailer systems 104. The central rewardsmechanism 102 may also associate a particular consumer ID orsupplementary member ID with the geographic area information, purchasedata and a corresponding manufacturer item identifier. In oneembodiment, the central rewards mechanism 102 performs an analysisinvolving one or more of the following: geographic area information, aconsumer ID, a supplementary member ID, purchase data, a points ratio, aconsumer profile, a supplementary member profile, a retailer ID, and amanufacturer ID. The analysis may be dependent upon an association ofthe consumer ID or supplementary member ID, the purchase data, and themanufacturer item identifier. The analysis may further comprise, forexample, geographic area information analysis using a calculation ofreward points and/or other analyses for purposes of market segmentationin a geographic area, determining consumer spending behavior in ageographic area, correlating spending behavior in a geographic area andconsumer demographics in a geographic area, and/or the like, asdescribed in greater detail above.

In one exemplary embodiment, the central rewards mechanism 102 storesand informs a consumer of the reward points that have been earned by aparticular transaction in a geographic area as well as accumulated overtime in various geographic areas. The number of reward points calculatedand awarded by the central rewards mechanism 102 for a particularpurchase may depend upon a geographic area and/or a predeterminedrewards ratio. The rewards ratio may be determined by the retailer, thesystem administrator, the manufacturer of the purchased item, and/or anyother suitable third-party. For example, if a participating consumerbuys a product from a retailer for $100 and if the retailer rewardsratio is one reward point for each dollar of the purchase price (i.e.,one-for-one), once the consumer's consumer ID or supplementary member IDis identified by the system, the consumer is credited with a suitablenumber of reward points from the retailer, which, in this case, would be100 points. However, if the manufacturer also chooses to issue rewardpoints for the item purchased, the manufacturer may select a pointsratio that is different from the retailer's selected ratio. In theillustrated example, if the manufacturer's selected points ratio istwo-for-one, then the consumer will be awarded an additional 200 pointsfrom the manufacturer for this single $100 purchase. Additionally, ifthe product is purchased in a certain geographic area, the points ratiomay be different. For example, if the product is purchased in Ohio, theconsumer is awarded a three-to-one ratio, but if the product ispurchased in Arizona, the consumer may only receive a two-to-one ratio.In this manner, the system of the invention may provide “earnaccelerators” through which consumers may accumulate reward points at acomparatively rapid rate. In other words, a single purchase in ageographic area may generate reward points for a consumer from any orall of a retailer, a manufacturer, and/or a third-party provider, andthose reward points may be used as rewards currency by the consumerthroughout the network established by the system of the invention.

In an exemplary embodiment, retailer system 104 comprises a retailerterminal 108 and a retailer processor 110 in communication with database111. Retailer terminal 108 comprises any input device capable ofidentifying a consumer ID or a supplementary member ID. Exemplarydevices for identifying a consumer ID or supplementary member ID mayinclude: a conventional card reader which recognizes a magnetic stripeor bar code associated with a consumer ID or supplementary member ID; abiometric device; a radio frequency device; a smart card reader whichrecognizes information stored on a microchip integrated with a consumerID or supplementary member ID; any device capable of receiving oruploading consumer ID or supplementary member ID data transmittedelectronically, magnetically, optically; and/or the like. In oneembodiment, retailer terminal 108 and retailer processor 110 areco-located at a retail store. In another embodiment, retail terminal 108and retailer processor 110 are remote from each other.

In one aspect of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the retailersystem 104 may facilitate instant enrollment in the system of theinvention by a consumer at the point of sale. In an exemplaryembodiment, retailer terminal 108 comprises an input device, such as anyof the devices noted above for example, that is capable of identifying aretailer loyalty identifier, which is described in detail above. In thisembodiment, when a consumer uses their retailer loyalty identifier at aretailer point-of-sale checkout (which may be either at a brick andmortar establishment or an online retailer Web site) (step 202), theconsumer is asked whether they wish to enroll in the system of theinvention (step 204). In an exemplary embodiment, the retailer terminal108 and/or the input device which interacts with the retailer loyaltyidentifier presents an enrollment query (e.g., “Would you like to enrollin a networked loyalty program?”) and prompts the consumer (or aretailer employee who may be handling the checkout transaction) toindicate a response by, for example, selecting either “Yes or No” inresponse to the enrollment query. In one embodiment, the consumer usesthe retailer loyalty identifier to interact with the input device whilethe consumer's purchases are being checked-out by the retailer so thatpull-through rates are minimally impacted. For example, the consumer mayswipe or scan the retailer loyalty identifier while the retailer isperforming the checkout process, and therefore the consumer may respondto the enrollment query substantially without the aid of the retaileremployee who is performing the checkout.

If the consumer does not wish to participate in the loyalty program ofthe invention, the consumer selects “No” in response to the enrollmentquery, the negative response is communicated to the retailer system 104,the retailer regional processor 114, and/or the central rewardsmechanism 102 (step 206), and the checkout process proceeds as usual(step 208).

Alternatively, if the consumer wishes to participate in the loyaltyprogram of the invention, the consumer selects “Yes” in response to theenrollment query, and the affirmative response is communicated to theretailer system 104, the retailer regional processor 114, and/or thecentral rewards mechanism 102 (step 210). In this embodiment, thecheckout also proceeds as usual (step 212). However, retailer enrollmentdata pertaining to the consumer is communicated from the retailer system104 (or the retailer regional processor 114, as described herein withreference to FIG. 4) to the central rewards mechanism 102 (step 214).For example, retailer enrollment data, such as, for example, theconsumer's name, address, geographic area information, etc., which theretailer has previously gathered from the consumer and has processed andstored for the purpose of enabling the consumer to participate in theretailers independent loyalty program, is sent from the retailer system104 (or the retailer regional processor 114) to the central rewardsmechanism 102.

At this point, the consumer may be able to establish (or it may beestablished by the retailer, the system or other participant) a maingeographic area indicating the “primary” area in which the consumerwishes to establish for receiving or spending geographic-based rewards.The consumer may also be able to select a secondary area for receivingor spending geographic-based rewards. For example, if the consumerspends most of the year in Chicago, but the winters in Florida, theconsumer may select Chicago as a primary area and Florida as a secondaryarea. Furthermore, the system may offer options to select regions ofparticipation (similar to wireless phone service areas). The system mayautomatically establish the geographic area of the participant based onthe use of, for example, cellular phone caller location relative tocellular towers or a global positioning system which may communicate thelocation (previous or planned locations) of the participant to thesystem. For example, the GPS may communicate that the consumer recentlytraveled from Maine to New York, so the system may register the consumerto receive loyalty points in any city or state along the route.

Once the central rewards mechanism 102 receives the enrollment data, thecentral rewards mechanism 102 then automatically processes thatenrollment data as an enrollment application for the consumer toparticipate in the networked loyalty program of the invention (step216). The enrollment data may be communicated from the retailer system104 (or the retailer regional processor 114) to the central rewardsmechanism 102 by any known routine or format, such as, for example batchprocessing or in real time. The central rewards mechanism then opens aconsumer account, issues a consumer ID, and sends this and otherrelevant information about the loyalty program (e.g., generalinformation about the loyalty program and the manner in which itoperates, information regarding the possibility of opening an aggregateaccount and obtaining supplementary member IDs, terms and conditions ofparticipation in the loyalty program, geographic-based earn and burninformation, etc.) to the consumer (step 218). At the point-of-sale,however, a temporary consumer account may be opened and/or a temporaryconsumer ID is issued to allow the consumer to participate in theloyalty program while the consumer is waiting to receive the consumerID, account information (including (step 220). This temporary consumeraccount is eventually reconciled with the consumer account once it hasbeen opened to credit the consumer with any rewards points or otherbenefits of participation in the loyalty program that may have accruedwhile the consumer was awaiting activation of the consumer account andreceipt of the consumer ID.

This “instant”, one-step enrollment functionality simplifies enrollmentin the system of the invention and saves consumers time by utilizingdata that the retailer already has in its possession, thereby reducingthe need for a consumer's active participation in a separate enrollmentprocess. Such a simplified enrollment process may lead to higherenrollment completion and participant acquisition rates as well as lowerparticipant acquisition costs. Moreover, retailers may enjoy thebenefits of consumer enrollment in the system of the invention withouteither requiring the dedication of substantial amounts of retailer spacefor enrollment purposes or decreasing checkout pull-through rates.

In an exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, retailer terminal108 comprises a retailer POS terminal 112, such as a cash register forexample. When a consumer ID or supplementary member ID is used at thetime an item is purchased, purchase data, including a SKU number, isinput, sensed, or otherwise recognized by terminal 108, and then thepurchase data is processed and stored by retailer processor 110.Retailer processor 110 comprises or is in communication with a suitabledatabase 111 or other storage device for maintaining and storingpurchase data and any other suitable retailer information. Database 111may be any type of database, such as any of the database productsdescribed herein for example. Database 111 may be organized in anysuitable manner, including as data tables or lookup tables. Purchasedata that is stored in database 111 is available to the retailer's localback office system (not shown) for inventory, accounting, tax, dataanalysis, and other purposes. The captured purchase data may include theitem purchased, the item's unit price, the number of items purchased,the date, the store location, an employee ID, geographic areainformation and any other information related to the purchase. In anexemplary embodiment, retailer processor 110 may also receive, process,and store manufacturer data, such as information regarding productsand/or services, manufacturer geographic area information and UPC data,from manufacturers 106 who have enrolled in the system 100. Themanufacturer data may be stored in any suitable form, including datatables or lookup tables.

In accordance with the exemplary embodiments illustrated in FIG. 4,purchase data may also be transmitted to, and then stored and processedby, a retailer regional processor 114 (or, alternatively, a retailernational processor (not shown)) in communication with database 115 forthe purpose of further back office and cumulative data analysis.Database 115 may be any type of database, such as any of the databaseproducts described in greater detail above for example. Database 115 maybe organized in any suitable manner, including as data tables or lookuptables. In an exemplary embodiment, retailer processor 110 optionallymay be integrated with retailer regional processor 114 (illustrated bythe phantom lines encompassing Retailer Processor 1 and retailerregional processor 114 within the system of Retailer/Merchant #2),thereby forming a single device. In another embodiment, retailerprocessor 110 and retailer regional processor 114 are separate deviceswhich may be either co-located with each other or remotely located fromone another. For example, in one embodiment, retailer processor 110 andregional processor 114 are co-located at a particular retail store. Inanother embodiment, retailer processor 110 is located at a particularretail store and retailer regional processor 114 is remotely located ata regional office.

Regardless of the location of retailer regional processor 114, retailerregional processor 114 receives and processes similar information fromeach of the retailer processors 110 associated with each of the retailstores owned by the same retailer. Whether the system 100 comprises aretailer regional processor 114 or a retailer national processor may bea function of the number of stores maintained by a particular retailer.That is, a larger retailer who has numerous stores throughout thecountry, for example, may choose to have a plurality of regionalprocessors, while a smaller retailer with a few stores scattered acrossthe country may be better served by a single, national processor. Inexemplary embodiments, the retailer regional processors 114 and/ornational processors communicate with a suitable database 115 or otherstorage device which is configured to store and maintain purchase dataand any other suitable retailer information. In another exemplaryembodiment, retailer regional processor 114 may receive, process, andstore manufacturer data, such as information regarding products and/orservices, manufacturer geographic area information and UPC data, frommanufacturers 106 who have enrolled in the system 100. The manufacturerdata may be stored in any suitable form, including data tables or lookuptables.

With momentary reference to FIG. 3, retailer terminal 108 may comprise arewards terminal 116 through which a consumer may be updated with regardto various aspects of the system. For example, rewards terminal 116 mayinform a consumer of the number of reward points in a certain geographicarea that they have accumulated from all system participants and thetypes of awards that may be obtained using those reward points in aspecific geographic area information. Moreover, rewards terminal 116 maysuggest to the consumer various awards in certain geographic areas forwhich the consumer is eligible based upon the reward points generated bythe consumer's network-wide purchases in certain geographic areas. Inthis context, network-wide purchases include any purchases of itemscorresponding to retailers and/or manufacturers participating in thesystem 100 in one or more geographic areas.

In an exemplary embodiment, rewards terminal 116 operates in real-time.In this context, “real-time” means that reward points are immediately,or nearly immediately, updated at the time purchases are made and aretherefore immediately redeemable by the consumer at a point of sale in ageographic area. Thus, for example, a consumer may be informed byrewards terminal 116 at the point of sale that the item being purchasedby the consumer may be purchased using the consumer's accumulated rewardpoints in a geographic area, including points accumulated on a networklevel in the geographic area. Points accumulated on a network levelenable consumers to accumulate points more rapidly than would bepossible if only a single retailer or group of retailers were issuingthe points in the same geographic area. In one embodiment, rewardsterminal 116 may update a consumer's reward points in realtime and, inresponse to the consumer's particular points total, issue a coupon, agift certificate, and/or additional bonus points to the consumer for usein a particular geographic area.

In another exemplary embodiment, the system may operate in batch mode,wherein points totals are calculated, stored, and periodically updatedfor access by the retailer terminal 108, including POS terminal 112and/or rewards terminal 116. Thus, in this embodiment, the consumer maybe notified of available points sometime after a purchase, or asuggestive sale in a geographic area may take place after a purchase.The total point count or suggestive sale may take into account pointsgenerated and accumulated as the result of network-wide purchases in ageographic area.

In various alternate embodiments of the invention, retailer terminal 108may include a rewards terminal 116 but not a POS terminal 112; a POSterminal 112 but not a rewards terminal 116; or a POS terminal 112 incommunication with a rewards terminal 116. In alternate embodiments,where terminal 108 includes a POS terminal 112 and a rewards terminal116, the two terminals 112 and 116 may be variously implemented asseparate terminals, integrated terminals, or software within a device.In another embodiment, where terminal 108 comprises a rewards terminal116 but not a POS terminal 112, terminal 108 may be a kiosk terminallocated within a retail store or some other remote terminal which iscapable of recognizing a consumer ID or supplementary member ID andcommunicating with the system 100. A consumer may use independentrewards terminal 116 to do, for example, any of the following: viewaccumulated reward points totals in a geographic area; view potentialawards which the consumer may obtain in a geographic area in exchangefor various numbers of points; select an award; redeem reward points fora selected award; request and/or receive a reward points advisorystatement; and/or view a directory of participating retailers,manufacturers, and third-party providers in a geographic area.

In another exemplary embodiment, system 100 further comprises a consumerterminal 118. Consumer terminal 118 is any remote terminal through whicha consumer may access other aspects of the system 100. Consumer terminal118 may comprise any of the input devices, computing units, or computingsystems described herein. Further, consumer terminal 118 communicateswith the system 100 through any of the communications networks describedherein. Consumer terminal 118 may also include, for example, a cellularphone caller location relative to cellular towers or global positioningsystem to automatically determine and communicate historical or currentlocation information to the system. In one embodiment, consumer terminal118 permits a consumer to engage multiple facets of the system 100 in aninteractive online communications environment. The interactive onlineenvironment made available through consumer terminal 118 is an extensionof the network-level incentive award program and is implemented inconjunction with other aspects of the system 100. In this context, aconsumer may use consumer terminal 118 for a variety of purposes. In oneembodiment, consumer terminal 118 may be used to communicate with andreceive information from the central rewards mechanism 102. For example,a consumer may use consumer terminal 118 to do any of the following:communicate geographic area information; enroll in the system; enrollsupplementary members in the system; identify particular individuals whoare authorized to enroll as supplementary members in association with aprimary member's aggregate consumer account; receive statements orreports regarding accumulated reward points totals; receive statementsor reports regarding a supplementary member's accumulated reward pointstotals; receive bonus details; view potential awards which the consumermay obtain in exchange for various numbers of points in a geographicarea; select an award in a geographic area; receive redemptioninformation in a geographic area; view points adjustments; redeem rewardpoints for a selected award in a geographic area; request and/or receivea reward points advisory statement; receive information regarding whereand how points were earned and/or how points were redeemed in therespective geographic areas; receive information regarding expirationdates for points earned in a geographic area; receive informationrelating to any applicable fees; receive information regarding marketingpromotions in a geographic area; and/or view a directory ofparticipating retailers, manufacturers, and/or third-party providers ina geographic area.

In one embodiment, a consumer may use consumer terminal 118 to customizethe online catalog for selective presentation to the consumer ofparticularly relevant rewards, rather than the entire rewards catalog.For example, a consumer may indicate an indicia of relevance (such asany aspect of the consumer's geographic area, demographics or profile,products related to or similar to previously purchased products, theconsumer's total accumulated reward points, and the like), and thesystem then presents to the consumer only those catalog items that arerelevant to the consumer. The consumer may select the indicia ofrelevance by any means known and practiced in the art, such as by usinga pointer in connection with a drop-down menu, a plurality of icons, ora plurality of “buttons” for example. This embodiment enables simplifiednavigation of the rewards catalog by consumers, thereby also enablingmore expedient reward points redemption.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, customized bonusofferings may be communicated to the consumer through an onlinecustomized rewards catalog (as described herein), a customer servicerepresentative, email, or offline communications. In one embodiment, theconsumer may use the consumer terminal 118 to receive bonus offeringsthat are customized according to any of the following consumerinformation: geographic area, demographics information, purchasingbehavior, reward points earning behavior, and reward points redemptionbehavior.

In another embodiment, consumer terminal 118 may be used to interactwith and/or make purchases and generate reward points from participatingonline retailers, as illustrated by the various phantom lines in FIG. 1.The online retailer may then communicate with the central rewardsmechanism 102 to transmit and process a consumer ID or supplementarymember ID, purchase data, etc., as described herein with reference toretailer 104 of FIG. 1. Information communicated between the onlineconsumer, the online retailer, and the online central rewards mechanismmay include, for example, geographic area information, product orservice information, prices, availability of the product or service,shipping information, reward points information, available awards,information regarding points ratios and points redemption, and/or thelike. In one embodiment, consumer terminal 118 operates in real-time, asdescribed herein with respect to rewards terminal 116. In anotherembodiment, the consumer terminal 118 may operate in batch mode, asdescribed herein. In still a further embodiment, consumer terminal 118operates in a manner which includes aspects of both real-timefunctionality and batch mode functionality.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the system 100 maycomprise a rewards server 120 in communication with a database 121, asillustrated in FIG. 3. Database 121 may be any type of database, such asany of the database products described herein for example. Database 121may be organized in any suitable manner, including as data tables orlookup tables. In an exemplary embodiment, rewards server 120 may be anyhardware and/or software that is configured to communicate with thecentral rewards mechanism 102 and either the retailer processor 110 orthe retailer regional processor 114. In alternate exemplary embodiments,rewards server 120 may be integrated with retailer system 104; rewardsserver 120 may be integrated with central rewards mechanism 102; orrewards server 120 may be separate from both retailer system 104 andcentral rewards mechanism 102. In a further embodiment, the rewardsserver 120 may communicate with both a retailer national processor (notshown) and the central rewards mechanism 102.

In an exemplary embodiment, rewards server 120 receives, processes, andstores geographic area information, manufacturer data and retailer data.Manufacturer data may include descriptions of products and/or servicesand UPC data transmitted from manufacturers 106 who have enrolled in thesystem 100. The manufacturer data may be stored in any suitable form,including data tables or lookup tables. Retailer data may includedescriptions of products and/or services and SKU data transmitted fromretailers 104 who have enrolled in the system 100. The retailer data maybe stored in any suitable form, including data tables or lookup tables.

In an exemplary embodiment, the rewards server 120 performs a pluralityof functions that might otherwise be performed by the central rewardsmechanism 102. For example, since rewards calculations requiresignificant processing and memory resources, performance of calculationsprocessing by the rewards server 120 at the regional level lessens theprocessing load on the central rewards mechanism 102, thereby increasingthe efficiency of the central rewards mechanism 102. In an exemplaryembodiment, each retailer's region, which comprises a plurality of thatretailer's stores or outlets, accesses a rewards server 120 which actsas an intermediary between the retailer regional processor 114 and thecentral rewards mechanism 102. This configuration relieves theprocessing, power, memory, and other requirements of the central rewardsmechanism 102. Moreover, each retailer is but one of many retailers thatmay participate in the network level rewards structure. Accordingly, aplurality of rewards servers 120 may be in communication with thecentral rewards mechanism 102 as well as each of the participatingretailer regional processors 114, further alleviating the processingburden and freeing up the resources of the central rewards mechanism102.

Implementations which include at least one independent rewards server120 are also advantageous because cost-effective communications linksmay be used to facilitate communications with the central rewardsmechanism 102. Performance by the rewards server 120 of many of the“intelligence functions” of the system 100 permits transmission of onlyparticular forms of purchaser information to the central rewardsmechanism 102. In an exemplary embodiment, data sent from the rewardsserver 120 to the central rewards mechanism 102 may include thegeographic area information, consumer ID or supplementary member ID andthe total number of reward points earned by a consumer in a particulartransaction. In another exemplary embodiment, data transmitted by therewards server 120 to the central rewards mechanism 102 may also includeany pre-selected aspect of the consumer profile or supplementary memberprofile, any preselected aspect of the purchase data, and/or any otherpre-selected data associated with a consumer, a retailer, amanufacturer, and/or a third-party provider in a geographic area.Pre-selection of the types of data transmitted by the rewards server 120to the central rewards mechanism 102 may be conducted by the systemadministrator, a retailer, a manufacturer, and/or a third-partyprovider. Thus, data which may be useful for purposes of data analysisbut unrelated to the rewards feature, such as the characteristics of theparticular item purchased for example, may not need to be transmitted tothe central rewards mechanism 102.

Exemplary functions performed by the rewards server 120 may include theassociation of geographic area information, UPC and SKU data;manipulation of the rewards criteria applicable in particular geographicareas, which may further depend upon the retailer, manufacturer, and/orthird-party provider involved in a specific transaction with a consumer;calculation of rewards benefits earned by the consumer in a geographicarea; filtration functions for determining which data is transmittedfrom the rewards server 120 to the central rewards mechanism 102; and/orvarious types of data analyses, as described herein. In an exemplaryembodiment, the retailer system 104 houses, maintains, and updates thehardware and/or software of the rewards server 120. In anotherembodiment, rewards server 120 may be housed, maintained, and updated bythe system administrator.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, thesystem 100 permits an open payment system. Since the invention generallyprovides that consumer participation in the system is based upon aconsumer ID or supplementary member ID, a purchaser may use any ofmultiple payment vehicles (such as cash, check, charge card, creditcard, debit card, MasterCard®, Visa®, and/or the American Express® Cardfor example) to make purchases at the various retailers and stillparticipate in the system. Thus, in one embodiment, geographic areainformation, the consumer ID or supplementary member ID is independentof any particular payment vehicle, such as a credit card for example.

However, alternate embodiments of the invention may be implemented whichassociate a geographic area, consumer ID or supplementary member ID witha particular payment vehicle, such as a consumer's credit card account,charge card account, debit card account, and/or bank account forexample. In this embodiment, the retailer conducting the transactionneed only participate in the system to the extent that the retailerprovides its geographic area or SKU data to the system 100, such as tothe rewards server 120. In other words, when a geographic area, consumerID or supplementary member ID is associated with an instrument (e.g., acredit card) from a third-party provider, the retailer need not providea rewards terminal or other terminal capable of processing the consumerID or supplementary member ID, since the third-party provider mayprocess the consumer ID or supplementary member ID as part of thepayment transaction. Thus, in this embodiment, rewards benefits may beearned by the consumer on a network-wide level in a geographic areawithout the retailer's direct participation in the rewards feature(notwithstanding the retailer's participation in transmitting SKU datato the system). Moreover, it will be appreciated that a singlegeographic area, consumer ID or supplementary member ID may beassociated with multiple third-party payment vehicles, thereby allowinga consumer to generate reward points regardless of the particularpayment vehicle selected for a particular purchase.

With reference to FIG. 5, an exemplary central rewards mechanism 502includes a central processor 504 in communication with other elements ofthe rewards mechanism 502 through a system interface or bus 506. Asuitable display device/input device 508, such as a keyboard or pointingdevice in combination with a monitor, may be provided for receiving datafrom and outputting data to a user of the system. A memory 510associated with the rewards mechanism 502 includes various softwaremodules, such as an enrollment module 512 and an authentication module514 for example. The memory 510 preferably further includes an operatingsystem 516 which enables execution by processor 504 of the varioussoftware applications residing at enrollment module 512 andauthentication module 514. Operating system 516 may be any suitableoperating system, as described herein. In one embodiment, a networkinterface 518 is provided for suitably interfacing with other elementsof the incentive awards system, such as the elements described hereinwith reference to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4.

Lastly, a storage device 520, such as a hard disk drive for example,preferably contains files or records which are accessed by the varioussoftware modules, such as enrollment module 512 and authenticationmodule 514. In particular, consumer data 522 comprises informationreceived from a consumer upon registration with the rewards mechanism502, including any information corresponding to geographic area orsupplementary members that may be affiliated with a primary member'saggregate consumer account. Consumer rewards 524 comprises datacorresponding to each consumer's rewards account, including datacorresponding to any aggregate consumer account and any supplementarymembers that may be affiliated with a primary member and/or an aggregateconsumer account. Consumer rewards 524 may include cumulative rewardpoints totals in a geographic area as well as historical totals andrewards account activity over time in a geographic area. In oneembodiment, consumer rewards 524 includes cumulative reward pointstotals, historical totals, and rewards account activity forsupplementary members affiliated with an aggregate consumer account.Retailer records 526 comprises information received from the variousparticipating retailers in a geographic area. Manufacturer records 528comprises information received from the various participatingmanufacturers in a geographic area. One skilled in the art willappreciate that the storage device 520 and, therefore, geographic areainformation, consumer data 522, consumer rewards 524, retailer records526, and manufacturer records 528 may be co-located with the rewardsmechanism 502 or may be remotely located with respect to the rewardsmechanism 502. If the storage device 520 is remotely located withrespect to the rewards mechanism 502, communication between storagedevice 520 and rewards mechanism 502 may be accomplished by any suitablecommunication link but is, in one embodiment, accomplished through aprivate intranet or extranet.

Enrollment module 512 receives information from consumers, retailers,and/or manufacturers who wish to participate in the system. Enrollmentmodule 512 accesses and stores information in storage device 520. In oneembodiment, enrollment module 512 receives, stores, and accesses datacorresponding to geographic area, primary members and their affiliatedsupplementary members. In another embodiment, enrollment module 512processes enrollment data received from a retailer system (e.g.,retailer system 104, retailer regional processor 114, or a nationalretailer processor) to facilitate instant enrollment of a consumer at apoint of sale, as described herein with reference to FIG. 2. Processingof enrollment data by enrollment module 512 may include, for example,associating geographic area information, opening a consumer account,issuing a consumer ID, and/or reconciling data in a temporary consumeraccount with a newly opened consumer account.

Authentication and/or validation of the identity and status ofparticipants, including any of the other system components, may beperformed by the authentication module 514, which may have access to therecords residing in storage device 520. In one embodiment,authentication module 514 authenticates and/or validates the geographicarea, identity, status, and/or affiliation of supplementary membersparticipating in the system. The validation may occur by cross-checkinggeographic area information such as, for example, zip code with phonenumber or zip code with street address.

With reference to FIG. 6, an exemplary rewards server 602 includes acentral processor 604 in communication with other elements of therewards server 602 through a system interface or bus 606. A suitabledisplay device/input device 608, such as a keyboard or pointing devicein combination with a monitor, may be provided for receiving data fromand outputting data to a user of the system. A memory 610, which isassociated with the rewards server 602, includes a variety of softwaremodules, such as an association module 612, a rewards calculation module614, a data analysis module 616, and a filtering module 618 for example.The memory 610 preferably further includes an operating system 620 whichenables execution by central processor 604 of the various softwareapplications residing at the various modules 612, 614, 616, and 618.Operating system 620 may be any suitable operating system, as describedherein. In one embodiment, a network interface 622 is provided forsuitably interfacing with other elements of the incentive awards system,such as the elements described herein with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, and4.

Storage device 624, such as a database as described herein for example,includes files or records which are accessed by the various softwaremodules 612, 614, 616, and 618. In particular, manufacturer data 626comprises information received from a manufacturer, such as geographicarea information, descriptions or other information regarding themanufacturer's products and/or services as well as UPC data for example.Retailer data 628 comprises information received from a retailer, suchas geographic area information, descriptions or other informationregarding the retailer's products and/or services as well as SKU datafor example. Consumer data 630 comprises information pertaining to aconsumer, including a geographic area information, consumer ID orsupplementary member ID, purchase data, a consumer profile orsupplementary member profile, and/or the like. One skilled in the artwill appreciate that the storage device 624 and, therefore, manufacturerdata 626, retailer data 628, and consumer data 630 may be co-locatedwith the rewards server 602 or may be remotely located with respect tothe rewards server 602. If the storage device 624 is remotely locatedwith respect to the rewards server 602, communication between storagedevice 624 and rewards server 602 may be accomplished by any suitablecommunication link but is preferably accomplished through a privateintranet or extranet.

Referring next to FIGS. 7 and 8, the process flows depicted in thesefigures are merely exemplary embodiments of the invention and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention as described herein. Itwill be appreciated that the following description makes appropriatereference not only to the steps depicted in FIGS. 7 and 8 but also tothe various system components as described herein with reference toFIGS. 1, 3, and 4.

FIG. 7 is flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for capturing andprocessing geographic information and POS SKU data in accordance withthe present invention. The association or matching of geographic areainformation, UPC and SKU data begins with POS data capture (step 702).When a consumer presents a consumer ID or supplementary member ID to aretailer 104 at the time of purchasing an item from the retailer 104,the consumer ID or supplementary member ID is processed by a rewardsterminal 116 that recognizes the consumer ID or supplementary member ID,determines appropriate geographic area information and identifies theconsumer as a participant in the system 100. Purchase data is capturedby the retailer POS terminal 112. Purchase data may include any of thedata types noted above. For example, purchase data may include any ofthe following: a SKU number; a unit price; a total transaction price;the payment vehicle(s) used; a store ID which identifies the particularstore location in a geographic area if a retailer operates more than onestore; a department ID, if the store has multiple departments; the dateof the transaction; the time of the transaction; the employee ID of thestore clerk who facilitates the transaction; a POS terminal ID toidentify the particular terminal conducting the transaction; anyretailer-specific incentive program ID; and/or the like. The retailerPOS terminal 112 creates a transaction file comprising the geographicarea information, consumer data (including a consumer ID orsupplementary member ID) and purchase data (including a SKU numberassociated with each item purchased), and the transaction file is thenstored by the retailer processor 110 in database 111 (step 704).

The various transaction files may be consolidated by the retailerprocessor 110 and then forwarded to the retailer regional processor 114(step 706) for further back-office and cumulative data analysisperformed by retailer 104.

In an exemplary embodiment, the transaction file is transmitted byeither of the retailer processor 110 or the retailer regional processor114 to the rewards server 120 (step 708). The geographic areainformation and SKU information for each item included in thetransaction file is then matched to or associated with corresponding UPCinformation which identifies the related manufacturer 106. An exemplaryassociation process is illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 8.Association of geographic area information, SKU and UPC data may beaccomplished through any data association technique known and practicedin the art. For example, the association may be accomplished eithermanually or automatically. Automatic association techniques may include,for example, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL,and/or the like.

In one embodiment, the system is thereby enabled to track the purchasingbehaviors of supplementary members in certain geographic areas as wellas primary members.

In an exemplary embodiment, the rewards server 120 utilizes theassociation information to calculate the reward points in a geographicarea generated by a consumer's purchase. For example, an appropriateseries of pointers leading from geographic area information to a SKU toa UPC to a manufacturer ID may ultimately direct the rewards server 120to employ a 2-for-1 manufacturer rewards ratio to award a consumer twiceas many points as the dollar amount of the consumer's total transactionprice. In another exemplary embodiment, an appropriate series ofpointers may result in the calculation of reward points based uponmultiple rewards criteria, such as rewards criteria associated with themanufacturer of the item as well as rewards criteria associated with athird-party provider in a certain geographic area for example.

With momentary reference to FIG. 7, in one exemplary embodiment, thegeographic area information, consumer ID or supplementary member ID andthe earned rewards information are transmitted to the central rewardsmechanism 102 after the rewards server 120 has filtered out consumerdata associated with the consumer ID or supplementary member ID (step710). In another embodiment, the central rewards mechanism 102 may usethe captured and matched geographic area information and UPC informationto determine rewards and/or for data analysis.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, FIG. 9 is a diagramillustrating an exemplary profiling system 900. Profiling system 900 maybe used to generate and analyze purchaser profiles. In one embodiment,the purchaser profiles may be used to effectively market products andservices to consumers. For example, the profiling system 900 permits thecross-selling of goods and services in a manner that was previouslythought to be impractical, if not impossible. That is, the comprehensivenature of the data made available through profiling system 900 permitsnetwork-wide, product-level knowledge of a consumer's specificpurchasing patterns across retailers in certain geographic areas. Thisknowledge may be used to develop targeted marketing strategies which canenhance relationships between and among manufacturers, retailers, andconsumers.

For instance, if a consumer purchases both Product 1 (e.g., a digitalvideo disc) and Product 2 (e.g., a compact disc) in a geographic area ina given month, and if the consumer makes these purchases using aconsumer ID, then profiling system 900 maintains a record of both thesepurchases related to the geographic area, regardless of whether theproducts were purchased from different retailers. Appropriate analyticson the data stored by profiling system 900 may then be used to determinethat this consumer may be a candidate for purchasing similar or relatedproducts or services in a geographic area (e.g., a surround sound audiosystem in the case of the examples above). The heightened awarenessprovided by profiling system 900 of a consumer's particular situationpermits the use of targeted marketing efforts that present the consumerwith specialized offers or other promotions that are likely to elicitadditional purchases by that consumer. Not only does this benefitmanufacturers and retailers, but the consumer is benefited by being madeaware of promotional offers and/or discounts on products and servicesthat are in fact relevant to the consumer.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, profiling system 900comprises a central rewards mechanism 902, a retailer/merchant system904, a profiler 906, a profiler interface 922, and an end-user 924. Itwill be appreciated that the system 900 may comprise any number ofretailer systems 904 and any number of end-users 924. Moreover, it willbe appreciated that central rewards mechanism 902 (and/or any of itssub-components) and profiler 906 may be separate components or may beintegrated to form a single component. It will also be appreciated thatprofiler 906 and profiler interface 922 may be separate components ormay be integrated for form a single component.

The central rewards mechanism 902 is substantially similar to, and maycomprise any of the components of, central rewards mechanism 102 and/orcentral rewards mechanism 502, as described herein with reference toFIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5. Moreover, central rewards mechanism 902 may beconfigured to include any of the functionality described herein withreference to central rewards mechanism 102 and/or central rewardsmechanism 502. In particular, central rewards mechanism 902 comprises anenrollment module 912, which is substantially similar to enrollmentmodule 512 of FIG. 5, and a storage device 920, which is substantiallysimilar to storage device 520 of FIG. 5. In one embodiment, enrollmentmodule 912 receives consumer enrollment data from consumers and thenprocesses and transmits the consumer enrollment data to storage device920 for storage and future retrieval.

In an exemplary embodiment, the retailer system 904 comprises a retailerterminal 908 and a retailer processor 910. The retailer processor 910may be in communication with a database 911. The retailer system 904 issubstantially similar to, and may comprise any of the components of,retailer system 104, as described herein with reference to FIGS. 1, 3,and 4. Moreover, retailer system 904 may be configured to include any ofthe functionality described herein with reference to retailer system104. Retailer terminal 908 is substantially similar to, and may compriseany of the components and/or functionality of, retailer terminal 108;retailer processor 910 is substantially similar to, and may comprise anyof the components and/or functionality of, retailer processor 110; anddatabase 911 is substantially similar to, and may comprise any of thecomponents and/or functionality of, database 111.

As described in detail above with reference to retailer terminal 108,the retailer terminal 908 records consumer purchases in a geographicarea, either online (such as at a merchant web site for example) oroffline (such as at a retailer store for example), and then transmitsthe purchase data to retailer processor 910. Retailer processor 910processes and suitably stores the purchase data. Retailer processor 910is in communication with a suitable database 911 or other storage devicefor maintaining and storing purchase data and/or any other suitableretailer information.

In one embodiment, profiler 906 comprises a data conditioner 914, a dataanalytics module 916, and a detail database 918. As illustrated in FIG.10, an exemplary profiler 906 further includes a processor 926 incommunication with other elements of profiler 906 through an interfaceor bus 928. A suitable display/input device 930, such as a keyboard orpointing device in combination with a monitor, may be provided forreceiving data from and outputting data to a user of profiler 906. Amemory 932 associated with profiler 906 includes a data conditioner 914and an analytics module 916. Memory 932 preferably further includes anoperating system 934 which enables execution by processor 926 of thesoftware applications residing at data conditioner 914 and analyticsmodule 916. Operating system 934 may be any suitable operating system,as described herein. The detail database 918 may be any type ofdatabase, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or thelike. Common database products that may be used to implement database918 include DB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), any of the databaseproducts available from Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.), anyof the database products available from Sybase, Inc. (Emeryville,Calif.), Microsoft Access by Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), orany other database product. In one embodiment, a network interface 936is provided for interfacing the profiler 906 with other elements of theprofiling system 900, described herein with reference to FIG. 9.

With reference once again to FIG. 9, profiling system 900 furtherincludes a profiler interface 922 and an end-user 924. Profilerinterface 922 may comprise any device or system that permits access todata that is maintained and/or generated by profiler 906. In oneembodiment, profiler interface 922 permits an end-user 924 to accessprofiler 906 and retrieve data maintained or generated by profiler 906.End-user 924 may include any person, entity, charitable organization,machine, software, hardware, and/or the like that may seek access todata that is maintained and/or generated by profiler 906. In oneembodiment, end-user 924 may be any of a retailer, a manufacturer, aconsumer, or a third-party provider. In another embodiment, the end-user924 may be the system administrator.

Communication between an end-user 924 and profiler interface 922 may beaccomplished through any suitable communication means, such as any ofthe means described in detail above, for example. In an exemplaryembodiment, profiler interface 922 is a web interface which comprises aweb server that enables an end-user 924 to communicate with profilerinterface 922 via a suitable communications link, such as the Internet,for example, to access data residing at profiler 906. In anotherembodiment, profiler interface 922 includes an authentication module(not shown) which authenticates and/or validates the identity and statusof end-users 924 who seek access to profiler 906. The authenticationmodule may have access to a suitable storage device, such as a databasefor example, which maintains records identifying authorized end-users924.

As will be described in greater detail herein, profiling system 900 mayoptionally include a rewards server 938 (illustrated in FIG. 9 byphantom lines which represent that it is optional). The rewards server938 is substantially similar to, and may comprise any of the componentsand/or functionality of, rewards server 120 and/or 602, as describedherein with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 6. If used, rewards server 938receives a transaction file (i.e., purchase data (including a retaileritem identifier, such as a SKU for example) resulting from a consumertransaction) from the retailer system 904 and standardizes thetransaction file by associating the retailer item identifier with acorresponding manufacturer item identifier (e.g., a UPC). By translatingor converting SKU data into corresponding UPC data, the goods and/orservices that are part of each consumer transaction are characterized ina uniform manner that facilitates data analysis, regardless of thenumber of participating retailers. It will be appreciated that, if used,the rewards server 938 may be a separate component from profiler 906 ormay be integrated with profiler 906.

In another embodiment of profiling system 900, profiler 906 mayoptionally comprise a warranty module 940 (illustrated in FIG. 9 byphantom lines which represent that it is optional). In this embodiment,the warranty module may be used to search detail database 918 forpurchase data relating to manufacturers″ warranties in a geographicarea. In one embodiment, a consumer who has purchased a product that hasa manufacturer's warranty may be informed by profiler 906, via profilerinterface 922 and a suitable communications link (such as through emailover the Internet for example), of any available opportunities topurchase an extended warranty plan in a geographic area. In anotherembodiment, a consumer may be informed by profiler 906 of any availableopportunities to purchase an extended warranty plan for a product in ageographic area whose manufacturer's warranty is about to expire.

Referring next to FIGS. 11 and 12, the process flows depicted in thesefigures are exemplary embodiments of the invention and are not intendedto limit the scope of the invention as described herein. It will beappreciated that the following description makes appropriate referencenot only to the steps depicted in FIGS. 11 and 12 but also to thevarious system components as described herein with reference to FIGS. 9and 10.

FIG. 11 is flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for generating apurchaser profile for a consumer or a group of consumers. Generating apurchaser profile begins with enrolling a consumer in the system of theinvention (step 1102). As described herein, enrollment is accomplishedby central rewards mechanism 902. That is, enrollment module 912receives and processes the consumer enrollment data, facilitatesissuance of a consumer ID to the consumer, and transmits the consumerenrollment data to storage device 920. In this context, the term“consumer ID” shall be understood to include “supplementary member ID”.After a consumer is enrolled in the system, the consumer may use theconsumer ID during a transaction with a retailer system 904.

When a consumer uses a consumer ID, the consumer ID and geographic areainformation, together with the purchase data associated with theretailer transaction in a geographic area, is captured at thepoint-of-sale (step 1104). That is, when a consumer presents a consumerID to a retailer 904 at the time of purchasing an item from the retailer904, the consumer ID and geographic area information is processed by arewards terminal 908 that recognizes the consumer ID and identifies theconsumer as a participant in the system 900 in a geographic area.Purchase data is then captured by the retailer terminal 908. Purchasedata may include any of the data types noted herein. For example,purchase data may include any of the following: geographic areainformation, a SKU number; a unit price; a total transaction price; thepayment vehicle(s) used; a store ID which identifies the particularstore location if a retailer operates more than one store; a departmentID, if the store has multiple departments; the date of the transaction;the time of the transaction; the employee ID of the store clerk whofacilitates the transaction; a retailer terminal ID to identify theparticular terminal conducting the transaction; any retailer-specificincentive program ID; any product warranty that may apply, as well asthe terms of the warranty; and/or the like. The retailer terminal 908creates and processes a transaction file comprising consumer-identifyingdata (i.e., the consumer ID) and purchase data (including a SKU numberassociated with each item purchased) (step 1106). The transaction filemay then be stored by the retailer processor 910 in database 911.

Optionally, the transaction file may be transmitted by the retailersystem 904 to the rewards server 938 (step 1108). (Steps 1108 through1114 are illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 11 to represent that thesesteps are optional.) In this embodiment, the transaction file isstandardized by matching or associating the SKU information for eachitem included in the transaction file with corresponding UPC informationwhich identifies the manufacturer of the item and/or a generaldescription of the goods or services (step 1110). Association of SKU andUPC data may be accomplished through any data association techniqueknown and practiced in the art. For example, the association may beaccomplished either manually or automatically. Automatic associationtechniques may include, for example, a database search, a databasemerge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, and/or the like. An exemplary method forassociating SKU and UPC data is described herein with reference to FIG.8. In this embodiment, after the rewards server 938 associates the SKUand UPC data, the rewards server 938 modifies or standardizes thattransaction file by including the UPC data (step 1112) and thentransmits the standardized transaction file to the profiler 906 (step1114). In one embodiment, the rewards server 938 transmits thestandardized transaction file to the data conditioner 914.

In an alternate embodiment, the transaction file is transmitted by theretailer system 904 to the profiler 906 (step 1116). In one embodiment,the transaction file is transmitted by retailer system 904 to the dataconditioner 914. In this embodiment, after data conditioner 914 hasreceived the transaction file, data conditioner 914 standardizes thetransaction file (step 1118). Since a given retailer will identify aproduct/service by an SKU that is relevant only to that retailer, it isuseful to identify and characterize products and services in a uniformmanner across retailers. Such standardization facilitates data analysisacross retailers, permits increased sophistication in the types ofanalyses that may be performed, and/or enhances the richness of theinformation derived from such analyses.

In one embodiment, data conditioner 914 standardizes the transactionfile by associating geographic area information, SKU and UPC data in amanner similar to that described herein with reference to rewards server938.

In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the data conditioner914 standardizes the transaction file by deriving a standard identifierfrom a SKU lookup table which is stored in a suitable database, such asdetail database 918 for example. In an exemplary embodiment, the SKUlookup table is created when detail database 918 receives and storesretailer data, such as SKU and related product or service data, forexample, transmitted to the detail database 918 by retailer system 904(step 1202). In an exemplary implementation, detail database 918 storesretailer data in a separate retailer data table for each participatingretailer system 904. Each retailer data table may comprise a pluralityof fields, such as “geographic information”, “SKU” and “productdescription”, for example, and a plurality of records, each recordcorresponding to an item offered by a participating retailer 904. Foreach record stored in the retailer data table, detail database 918 thengenerates, assigns, and stores as part of the record a standardidentifier (step 1204). The standard identifier uniquely identifies anitem stored in the data table and is linked to the SKU and/or geographicarea information that is also associated with that item (step 1206). Thestandard identifier may be any suitable identifier, such as a number, acode, an alphanumeric identifier, etc., that may be used to uniquelydesignate or identify an item in the SKU lookup table. In an exemplaryembodiment, the “geographic area information”, “SKU” and “standardidentifier” fields in the SKU data table may be linked by an appropriatepointer.

The SKU lookup table is then used by data conditioner 914 to derive astandard identifier that corresponds to the specific product or servicerepresented by the particular retailer'″ SKU number in the transactionfile. Thus, when the data conditioner 914 receives the transaction file,the data conditioner 914 searches the SKU lookup table for theappropriate SKU number. That is, when the data conditioner 914 searchesthe SKU lookup table and locates the particular SKU that has beencaptured and transmitted by the retailer system 904, the specificallyidentified SKU datafield uses a pointer to direct the data conditioner914 to the standard identifier datafield that corresponds to that SKUnumber (step 1208). After data conditioner 914 derives a standardidentifier for each item included in the transaction file, the standardidentifier is then linked to, or stored as a part of, the transactionfile (step 1210).

As mentioned previously, while the SKU is an identifier that is definedby a particular retailer in a geographic area and has little meaningoutside the retailer system 904, the standard identifier is used tocharacterize a particular product or service in a geographic area acrossmultiple retailers. For example, if SKU 1 is used by Retailer 1 toidentify Product A, and if SKU 2 is used by Retailer 2 to identifyProduct A, Product A is identified by a single Standard Identifier byprofiler 906, regardless of the retailer system 904 from which thetransaction file containing data on Product A originated. The SKU lookuptable may be maintained by the system administrator and updatedperiodically with information received from the retailer systems 904.

In another embodiment, the retailer system 904 standardizes thetransaction file prior to transmitting the transaction file to theprofiler 906. In one embodiment, retailer system 904 standardizes thetransaction file by associating geographic area information, SKU and UPCdata, as described herein with reference to rewards server 938. Inanother embodiment, retailer system 904 standardizes the transactionfile by using a SKU lookup table, as described herein with reference toFIG. 12. After standardizing the transaction file, the retailer system904 transmits the standardized transaction file to profiler 906. Whethertransmitted to reward server 938 or profiler 906, a transaction file,whether or not it has been standardized prior to transmission, may betransmitted from retailer system 904 either as part of a periodic batchprocess or in real time as each transaction occurs.

Referring once again to FIG. 11, after the transaction file has beenstandardized, either by rewards server 938 or data conditioner 914,detail database 918 receives the standardized transaction file andqueries whether the consumer associated with the transaction filealready has an established record in the detail database 918 (step1120). If the consumer associated with the transaction file already hasan established record in detail database 918, as determined by a searchof detail database 918 by data conditioner 914 for the consumer IDcontained in the transaction file, then data conditioner 914 writes thenewly obtained transaction file to the established record in detaildatabase 918 (step 1122), thereby updating the consumer's record toreflect the additional purchases. This updated record may then be usedby analytics module 916 to generate a purchaser profile, as described ingreater detail below (step 1130).

If the consumer associated with the transaction file does not have anestablished record in detail database 918, as determined by dataconditioner 914 based upon a search of detail database 918, then dataconditioner 914 creates a new record in detail database 918 for thestandardized transaction file (step 1124). The data conditioner 914 thenmerges consumer enrollment data stored by central rewards mechanism 902with the standardized transaction file. That is, for each standardizedtransaction file that is written to detail database 918 as a new record,data conditioner 914 requests and receives consumer enrollment data fromcentral rewards mechanism 902 (step 1126). The request identifies theconsumer ID associated with the transaction file and asks that consumerenrollment data associated with the consumer ID be transmitted from thecentral rewards mechanism 902 to data conditioner 914. The centralrewards mechanism 902 retrieves the appropriate consumer enrollment datafile from storage device 920 and then transmits the consumer enrollmentdata to data conditioner 914. Data conditioner 914 then merges theconsumer enrollment data with the standardized transaction filecontained in the newly created record in detail database 918 (step1128).

The standardized transaction file and the consumer enrollment data maybe merged by any suitable database merge function, such as by using a“key field” (as described herein) within each of the records stored instorage device 920 and detail database 918. In one embodiment, thestandardized transaction file and the consumer enrollment data aremerged using a key field which corresponds to a consumer ID data field.

Analytics module 916 generates purchaser profiles by accessing and usingthe data in detail database 918 (step 1130). As will be appreciated, anyknown methods for performing data analysis, analytics, econometrics,modeling, data mining, marketing analyses, etc., may make use of thecombined consumer enrollment data and purchase data stored in detaildatabase 918. Analytics module 916 may generate purchaser profiles inthe form of reports, summary data sheets, spread sheets, graphicaloutput, combinations of these, and/or the like. The purchaser profilesmay be stored by detail database 918, viewed on a display screen (e.g.,display device 930), printed, transmitted to an end-user 924, and/or thelike.

An end-user 924 can access profiler 906 through profiler interface 922.In one embodiment, an end-user 924 may be enabled to use profilerinterface 922 to accomplish one or more of the following which may befurther divided or grouped by geographic area information: (1) useanalytics module 916 to run analytics on any of (or selected parts of)the data stored in detail database 918; (2) use analytics module 916 torun analytics on summary data that is stored in detail database 918; (3)access detail database 918, download particular data to the end-user'ssystem, and run specific end-user analytics (i.e., analytics whichreside at end-user 924) to generate custom purchaser profiles based uponan end-user's particular requirements; and/or (4) access reports,summary data sheets, spread sheets, graphical output, combinations ofthese, and/or the like that are generated by analytics module 916 andstored by detail database 918.

It will be appreciated that the system 900 may be adapted to implement asuitable privacy policy which protects the personal information ofparticipating consumers. That is, the system 900 may limit access to thedata, or portions of the data, in a purchaser profile that is madeavailable to end-users 924 by profiler 906, depending upon the identityof end-user 924 and/or the wishes of a particular consumer. For example,the system 900 may, prior to enrolling a consumer, give the consumerappropriate notification regarding any and all potential disclosures ofconsumer enrollment data and/or purchase data and/or data residing in apurchaser profile that has been generated by the system. Moreover, thesystem may permit the consumer to identify the types of data that theconsumer does not authorize the system to disclose to end-users 924and/or to identify the types of end-users 924 whom the consumer does notwish to grant access to data regarding that consumer.

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the inventionherein makes reference to the accompanying drawings and pictures, whichshow the exemplary embodiment by way of illustration and its best mode.While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should beunderstood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical andmechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. Thus, the detailed description herein ispresented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. Forexample, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptionsmay be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented.

For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking, applicationdevelopment and other functional aspects of the systems (and componentsof the individual operating components of the systems) may not bedescribed in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown inthe various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplaryfunctional relationships and/or physical couplings between the variouselements. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical connections may be present in apractical electronic transaction system.

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to saidprocessor for storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to theprocessor for inputting digital data; an application program stored insaid memory and accessible by said processor for directing processing ofdigital data by said processor; a display device coupled to theprocessor and memory for displaying information derived from digitaldata processed by said processor; and a plurality of databases. Variousdatabases used herein may include: client data; merchant data; financialinstitution data; and/or like data useful in the operation of thepresent invention. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, usercomputer may include an operating system (e.g., Windows NT, 95/98/2000,Linux, Solaris, etc.) as well as various conventional support softwareand drivers typically associated with computers. User computer can be ina home or business environment with access to a network. In an exemplaryembodiment, access is through the Internet through acommercially-available web-browser software package.

Communication among the parties in accordance with the present inventionmay be accomplished through any suitable communication protocols, suchas, for example, a telephone network, Intranet, Internet, point ofinteraction device (point of sale device, personal digital assistant,cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), online communications, off-linecommunications, wireless communications, transponder communications,local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), networked or linkeddevices and/or the like. One skilled in the art will also appreciatethat, for security reasons, any databases, systems, devices, servers orother components of the present invention may consist of any combinationthereof at a single location or at multiple locations, wherein eachdatabase or system includes any of various suitable security features,such as firewalls, access codes, encryption, decryption, compression,decompression, and/or the like.

Any databases discussed herein may be any type of database, such asrelational, hierarchical, graphical, object-oriented, and/or otherdatabase configurations. Common database products that may be used toimplement the databases include DB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), variousdatabase products available from Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores,Calif., Microsoft Access or MSSQL by Microsoft Corporation (Redmond,Wash.), or any other suitable database product. Moreover, the databasesmay be organized in any suitable manner, for example, as data tables orlookup tables. Each record may be a single file, a series of files, alinked series of data fields or any other data structure. Association ofcertain data may be accomplished through any desired data associationtechnique such as those known or practiced in the art. For example, theassociation may be accomplished either manually or automatically.Automatic association techniques may include, for example, a databasesearch, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, and/or the like. Theassociation step may be accomplished by a database merge function, forexample, using a “key field” in preselected databases or data sectors.

More particularly, a “key field” partitions the database according tothe high-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example,certain types of data may be designated as a key field in a plurality ofrelated data tables and the data tables may then be merged on the basisof the type of data in the key field. In this regard, the datacorresponding to the key field in each of the merged data tables ispreferably the same or of the same type. However, data tables havingsimilar, though not identical, data in the key fields may also be mergedby using AGREP, for example.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible byparticipants. In one embodiment, the Internet Information Server,Microsoft Transaction Server, and Microsoft SQL Server, are used inconjunction with the Microsoft operating system, Microsoft NT web serversoftware, a Microsoft SQL database system, and a Microsoft CommerceServer. Additionally, components such as Access or SQL Server, Oracle,Sybase, Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc., may be used to provide anADO-compliant database management system.

The term “webpage” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the typeof documents and applications that might be used to interact with theuser. For example, a typical website might include, in addition tostandard HTML documents, various forms, Java applets, Javascript, activeserver pages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts (CGI), extensiblemarkup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS),helper applications, plug-ins, and the like. A server may include awebservice which receives a request from a browser which includes a URL(http://yahoo.com/stockquotes/ge) and an IP address (123.56.789). Thewebservice retrieves the appropriate webpages and sends the webpages tothe IP address.

The present invention may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components, screen shots, optional selections and variousprocessing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocksmay be realized by any number of hardware and/or software componentsconfigured to perform the specified functions. For example, the presentinvention may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memoryelements, processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and thelike, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control ofone or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, thesoftware elements of the present invention may be implemented with anyprogramming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, COBOL,assembler, PERL, Visual Basic, SQL Stored Procedures, extensible markuplanguage (XML), with the various algorithms being implemented with anycombination of data structures, objects, processes, routines or otherprogramming elements. Further, it should be noted that the presentinvention may employ any number of conventional techniques for datatransmission, signaling, data processing, network control, and the like.Still further, the invention may include cryptography. For a basicintroduction of cryptography and network security, the following may behelpful references: (1) “Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms,And Source Code In C,” by Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley & Sons(second edition, 1996); (2) “Java Cryptography” by Jonathan Knudson,published by O'Reilly & Associates (1998); (3) “Cryptography & NetworkSecurity: Principles & Practice” by William Stalling, published byPrentice Hall; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

It will be appreciated, that many applications of the present inventioncould be formulated. One skilled in the art will appreciate that thenetwork may include any system for exchanging data or transactingbusiness, such as the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, WAN, LAN,satellite communications, and/or the like. It is noted that the networkmay be implemented as other types of networks, such as an interactivetelevision (ITV) network. The parties may interact with the system viaany input device such as a keyboard, mouse, kiosk, personal digitalassistant, handheld computer (e.g., Palm Pilot®), cellular phone and/orany suitable communication or data input modality. Similarly, theinvention could be used in conjunction with any suitable personalcomputer, network computer, workstation, minicomputer, mainframe, or thelike running any operating system such as any version of Windows,Windows NT, Windows2000, Windows 98, Windows 95, MacOS, OS/2, BeOS,Linux, UNIX, Solaris or the like. Moreover, although the invention isfrequently described herein as being implemented with TCP/IPcommunications protocols, the invention may also be implemented usingIPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI or any number of existing or futureprotocols. Moreover, the system contemplates the use, sale ordistribution of any goods, services or information over any networkhaving similar functionality described herein.

The computing units may be connected with each other via a datacommunication network. If the network is in the nature of a publicnetwork, it may be advantageous to presume the network to be insecureand open to eavesdroppers. In the illustrated implementation, thenetwork may comprise the Internet. In this context, the computers may ormay not be connected to the internet at all times. For instance, thecustomer computer may employ a modem to occasionally connect to theinternet, whereas the bank computing center may maintain an intermittentor permanent connection to the internet. Specific information related tothe protocols, standards, and application software utilized inconnection with the Internet is generally known to those skilled in theart and, as such, need not be detailed herein. See, for example, DilipNaik, “Internet Standards and Protocols” (1998); “Java 2 Complete”,various authors, (Sybex 1999); Deborah Ray and Eric Ray, “Mastering HTML4.0” (1997); and Loshin, “TCP/IP Clearly Explained” (1997), the contentsof which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The various system components may be suitably coupled to the network viadata links including a variety of communications media and protocolssuch as, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider (ISP)over the local loop as is typically used in connection with standardmodem communication, cable modem, Dish networks, ISDN, DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods. Thesystem components may independently, separately or collectively residewithin a local area network (LAN) which interfaces to network via aleased line (T1, D3, etc.) or other desired communication methods. See,e.g., Gilbert Held, “Understanding Data Communications” (1996), herebyincorporated by reference.

As used herein, the term “end user”, “consumer”, “customer”,“cardmember”, “business” or “merchant” may be used interchangeably witheach other, and each shall mean any person, entity, machine, hardware,software or business. A bank may be part of the system, but the bank mayrepresent other types of card issuing institutions, such as credit cardcompanies, card sponsoring companies, or third party issuers undercontract with financial institutions. It is further noted that otherparticipants may be involved in some phases of the transaction, such asan intermediary settlement institution, but these participants are notshown.

Each participant is equipped with a computing device to facilitateonline commerce transactions. The customer has a computing unit in theform of a personal computer, although other types of computing units maybe used including laptops, notebooks, hand held computers, set-topboxes, touch-tone telephones and the like. The merchant has a computingunit implemented in the form of a computer-server, although otherimplementations are contemplated by the invention. The bank has acomputing center shown as a main frame computer. However, the bankcomputing center may be implemented in other forms, such as amini-computer, a PC server, a network of computers, or the like.

The merchant computer and the bank computer may be interconnected via asecond network, referred to as a payment network. The payment networkwhich may be part of certain transactions represents existingproprietary networks that presently accommodate transactions for creditcards, debit cards, and other types of financial/banking cards. Thepayment network is a closed network that is assumed to be secure fromeavesdroppers. Exemplary transaction networks may include the AmericanExpress®, VisaNet® and the Veriphone® networks.

The electronic commerce system may be implemented at the customer andissuing bank. In an exemplary implementation, the electronic commercesystem is implemented as computer software modules loaded onto thecustomer computer and the banking computing center. The merchantcomputer does not require any additional software to participate in theonline commerce transactions supported by the online commerce system.

An “account” or “account number”, as used herein, may include anydevice, code, number, letter, symbol, digital certificate, smart chip,digital signal, analog signal, biometric or other identifier/indiciasuitably configured to allow the consumer to access, interact with orcommunicate with the system such as, for example, one or more of anauthorization/access code, personal identification number (PIN),Internet code, other identification code, and/or the like which mayoptionally be located on or associated with a rewards card, charge card,credit card, debit card, prepaid card, telephone card, smart card,magnetic stripe card, bar code card, transponder, radio frequency cardor an associated account. The account number may be distributed andstored in any form of plastic, electronic, magnetic, radio frequency,wireless, audio and/or optical device capable of transmitting ordownloading data from itself to a second device. A customer accountnumber may be, for example, a sixteen-digit credit card number, althougheach credit provider has its own numbering system, such as thefifteen-digit numbering system used by American Express. Each company'scredit card numbers comply with that company's standardized format suchthat the company using a sixteen-digit format will generally use fourspaced sets of numbers, as represented by the number “0000 0000 00000000”. The first five to seven digits are reserved for processingpurposes and identify the issuing bank, card type, etc. In this example,the last (sixteenth) digit is used as a sum check for the sixteen-digitnumber. The intermediary eight-to-ten digits are used to uniquelyidentify the customer. A merchant account number may be, for example,any number or alpha-numeric characters that identifies a particularmerchant for purposes of card acceptance, account reconciliation,reporting, or the like.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the presentinvention may be embodied as a method, a data processing system, adevice for data processing, and/or a computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelysoftware embodiment, an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodimentcombining aspects of both software and hardware. Furthermore, thepresent invention may take the form of a computer program product on acomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codemeans embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readablestorage medium may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROM, opticalstorage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or the like.

The present invention is described herein with reference to screenshots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatus(e.g., systems), and computer program products according to variousaspects of the invention. It will be understood that each functionalblock of the block diagrams and the flowchart illustrations, andcombinations of functional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations, respectively, can be implemented by computer programinstructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks inthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented byeither special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of specialpurpose hardware and computer instructions.

For more information on loyalty systems, transaction systems, electroniccommerce systems and digital wallet systems, see, for example, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/836,213, filed on Apr. 17, 2001, byinventors Voltmer, et al., and entitled “System And Method For NetworkedLoyalty Program”; U.S. Continuation-In-Part patent application Ser. No.10/027,984, was filed on Dec. 20, 2001, by inventors Ariff, et al., andentitled “System And Method For Networked Loyalty Program”; U.S.Continuation-In-Part patent application Ser. No. 10/010,947, filed onNov. 6, 2001, by inventors Haines, et al., and entitled “System AndMethod For Networked Loyalty Program”; U.S. Continuation-In-Part patentapplication Ser. No. 10/084,744, filed on Feb. 26, 2002, by inventorsBishop, et al., and entitled “System And Method For Securing DataThrough A PDA Portal”; the Shop AMEX™ system disclosed in U.S. PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/230,190, filed Sep. 5, 2000; the MR as Currency™and Loyalty Rewards Systems disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Ser.No. 60/197,296, filed on Apr. 14, 2000; U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.60/200,492, filed Apr. 28, 2000; U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.60/201,114, filed May 2, 2000; the digital wallet system disclosed inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/652,899, filed Aug. 31, 2000; thestored value card disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/241,188, filed Feb. 1, 1999; the system for facilitating transactionsusing secondary transaction numbers disclosed in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/800,461, filed Mar. 7, 2001; and also in related U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/187,620, filed Mar. 7, 2000;U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/200,625, filed Apr. 28,2000; U.S. Ser. No. 09/834,478, filed on Apr. 13, 2001 by Chien, et al.,and entitled “System And Method For Using Loyalty Points,” and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/213,323, filed May 22, 2000,all of which are herein incorporated by reference. Other examples ofonline membership reward systems are disclosed in Netcentives, U.S. Pat.No. 5,774,870, issued on Jun. 30, 1998, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,412,issued on Dec. 29, 1999, both of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of any or all the claims or the invention. As usedherein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variationthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elementsdoes not include only those elements but may include other elements notexpressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, orapparatus. Further, no element described herein is required for thepractice of the invention unless expressly described as “essential” or“critical”.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific embodiments. However, it will be appreciated thatvarious modifications and changes can be made without departing from thescope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. Thespecification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative manner,rather than a restrictive one, and all such modifications are intendedto be included within the scope of present invention. Accordingly, thescope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims andtheir legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given above. Forexample, the steps recited in any of the method or process claims may beexecuted in any order and are not limited to the order presented in theclaims.

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A method of instantly enrolling a customer at apoint of sale device in an electronically implemented geographic arealoyalty points system, the method comprising: receiving, by a computersystem, location information collected at the point of sale device,wherein the location information identifies at least a primarygeographic area, wherein the location information is provided to thepoint of sale device by a user device in electronic communication withthe point of sale device during an interactive session, and wherein thelocation information is determined based on a global positioning system(GPS) or cellular location technology; receiving by the computer system,customer information collected at the point of sale device during theinteractive session, wherein the customer information includes a firstdata set of customer information collected at the point of sale deviceduring the interactive session as part of an electronic enrollment queryprocess and a second data set of customer information electronicallycollected at the point of sale device independently of the electronicenrollment query process; electronically processing, by the computersystem, the customer information collected at the point of sale deviceand the location information to enroll the customer in theelectronically implemented geographic area loyalty points system; andfacilitating, by the computer system, instant enrollment functionalityfor the customer at the point of sale device, wherein the instantenrollment functionality includes computer instructions enabling thecustomer to receive loyalty points for a purchase made during theinteractive session.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the loyaltypoints received for the purchase are redeemable for purchases madewithin the primary geographic area, but not redeemable for purchasesmade within a geophonic area external to the primary geographic area.24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first data set of customerinformation identifies a secondary geographic area selected by thecustomer, wherein the loyalty points received for the purchase areredeemable for purchases made within the secondary geographic area. 25.The method of claim 22, wherein the second data set of customerinformation includes a name and an address of the customer maintained bya retailer associated the point of sale device.
 26. The method of claim22, further comprising: receiving, by the computer system, purchaseinformation about the purchase; and determining, by the computer systemand based on the purchase information, an amount of loyal points to bereceived by the customer for the purchase.
 27. The method of claim 26,wherein the determining includes allocating, by the computer system,additional loyalty points for the purchase in response to the purchasebeing made within the primary geographic area.
 28. The method of claim22, wherein the facilitating includes assigning the customer a temporarycustomer identifier usable for the interactive session and until asubsequent customer identifier is assigned to the customer.
 29. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the point of sale device presents anenrollment query asking the customer whether the customer wants toenroll in the electronically implemented geographic area loyalty pointssystem.
 30. A retailer device, comprising: a processor; memory havingprogram instructions stored therein that are executable by the processorto cause the retailer device to facilitate instantly enrolling acustomer in an electronically implemented geographic area loyalty pointssystem, including: collecting location information from a user device inelectronic communication with the retailer device during an interactivesession, wherein the location information identifies at least a primarygeographic area, and wherein the location information is determinedbased on a global positioning system (GPS) or cellular locationtechnology; collecting customer information during the interactivesession, wherein the customer information includes a first data set ofcustomer information collected at the retailer device during theinteractive session as part of an electronic enrollment query processand a second data set of customer information electronically collectedat the retailer device independently of the electronic enrollment queryprocess; providing the location information and the customer informationto a computer system configured to electronically process the locationinformation and the customer information collected at the retailerdevice to enroll the customer in the electronically implementedgeographic area loyalty points system; and providing, to the computersystem, purchase information to enable the customer to receive loyaltypoints for a purchase made during the interactive session.
 31. Theretailer device of claim 30, wherein facilitating the instantlyenrolling further includes: during the interaction session, receiving aretailer loyalty identifier associated with a retailer loyalty pointsprogram distinct from the geographic area loyalty points system; and inresponse to the retailer loyalty identifier, presenting a prompt askingwhether the customer wants to enroll in the geographic area loyaltypoints system.
 32. The retailer device of claim 31, wherein thecollected customer information includes customer information collectedin conjunction with the retailer loyalty points program.
 33. Theretailer device of claim 30, wherein the program instructions areexecutable to cause the retailer device to: permit a consumer to redeemloyalty points for a purchase in response to determining the loyaltypoints to be redeemed are associated with a geographic area that is alsoassociated with the retailer device.
 34. The retailer device of claim30, wherein the program instructions are executable to cause theretailer device to: provide an offer for which loyalty points associatedwith the primary geographic area are redeemable.
 35. The retailer deviceof claim 30, facilitating the instantly enrolling further includes:receive, from the customer, a selection of secondary geographic areawhere the loyalty points are redeemable.
 36. The retailer device ofclaim 30, wherein the purchase information includes a universal productcode (UPC) associated with the purchase and usable to determine theloyalty points for the purchase.
 37. A non-transitory computer readablemedium having program instructions stored therein that are executable bya computer system to perform operations for instantly enrolling acustomer in an electronically implemented geographic area loyalty pointssystem, wherein the operations comprise: receiving, from a point of saledevice, a request to enroll the customer in the electronicallyimplemented geographic area loyalty points system, wherein the receivingincludes: receiving location information identifying at least a primarygeographic area determined by a customer device in communication withthe point of sale device and determined based on a global positioningsystem (GPS) or cellular location technology; and receiving customerinformation collected at the point of sale device, wherein the customerinformation includes a first data set of customer information collectedat the point of sale device as part of an electronic enrollment queryprocess and a second data set of customer information electronicallycollected at the point of sale device independently of the electronicenrollment query process; electronically processing the customerinformation collected at the point of sale device and the locationinformation to enroll the customer in the electronically implementedgeographic area loyalty points system; and facilitating instantenrollment of the customer at the point of sale device, wherein theinstant enrollment includes enabling the customer to receive loyaltypoints for a purchase, wherein the loyalty points for the purchase areassociated with the primary geographic area such that the loyalty pointsare redeemable for purchases made in association with the primarygeographic area.
 38. The computer readable medium of claim 37, whereinthe operations further comprise: receiving, from the point of saledevice, product information associated with the purchase; anddetermining, based on the product information, an amount of the loyalpoints for the purchase.
 39. The computer readable medium of claim 37,wherein the operations further comprise: receiving purchase informationfor another purchase being made by the customer; and determining whetherto award additional loyalty points based on whether the other purchaseis made in the primary geographic area.
 40. The computer readable mediumof claim 37, wherein the first data set of customer information includesa secondary geographic area selected by the customer, wherein theloyalty points received for the purchase are redeemable for purchasesmade within the secondary geographic area.
 41. The computer readablemedium of claim 40, wherein the second data set of customer informationincludes data collected from a loyalty points program provided by aretailer associated with the point of sale device, and wherein theloyalty points program provided by the retailer is distinct from theelectronically implemented geographic area loyalty points system.